The 49ers defense has been arguably the best in the league through the first 5 weeks of the season. They lead the NFL in points allowed, yards allowed, yards per play and a number of other significant categories. Nothing is more vital to their success than their pass rush, which has also generated a league-leading 21 sacks.
It isn’t just about the talent the 49ers have rushing the passer, though. In fact, they were still able to rack up 6 sacks in Week 5 against the Panthers without one of their most disruptive defensive linemen, Arik Armstead.
Instead, it’s a combination of their talent and the ways defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has been putting his players in position to succeed. One of the staple techniques he’s used to do that has been the tilted front.
Below you can see what that looks like. Notice the 3 down linemen to one side of the center:
Why is this such an effective front? Two key reasons are that it can dictate 1-on-1 matchups and it presents a great opportunity for stunts. Here, the Rams responded to the look by using a 3-man slide:
The other aspect here was that the 49ers dropped linebacker Fred Warner down into the B-gap to the other side. This kept the Rams from including the right guard in the slide. And that ensured the 49ers would have a 3-for-3 matchup to the side of the tilted front:
San Francisco would run a 3-man stunt on this play, with the two inside pass rushers getting upfield as the penetrators and Nick Bosa rushing upfield initially before coming around them as the looper:
While this front is a high-alert for the offensive line to anticipate stunts and twists, handling them is easier said than done. First, consider how far Bosa would travel. He started from a wide-9 alignment and then made it all the way inside to the A-Gap. That’s difficult for any center to see and be able to pick up, especially with two other pass rushers threatening right in front of him.