Through one game, Raheem Morris is already pushing the San Francisco 49ers' defense into territory it hasn't occupied under Kyle Shanahan.
In San Francisco's 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Morris' unit posted the fourth-best defensive EPA per dropback (0.28) in Week 1, per The Athletic's Ted Nguyen. More notably, the numbers behind that mark reflect real structural change: Morris called two-high shells on 51.72 percent of Los Angeles' dropbacks, the highest rate for a 49ers defense dating back to 2017. He also deployed dime personnel (six defensive backs) on 14 percent of snaps, something San Francisco rarely leaned on in years past, and mixed in odd fronts while using rookie inside linebacker Jaden Dugger as an edge rusher.
As Nguyen put it, Morris' defense "has a chance to surprise" if the 49ers' offense can force opponents into obvious passing situations.
Those wrinkles showed up in the broader numbers. San Francisco allowed just 168 passing yards and no touchdowns through the air on 28 attempts, with Matthew Stafford's average depth of target sitting at 9.6. Morris' unit also generated eight quarterback knockdowns and eight total pressures (a 27.6 percent pressure rate) despite finishing with zero sacks, and the Rams offense missed just three tackles against San Francisco's defenders, well below several teams' Week 1 totals.
Overall, the 49ers allowed only 5.1 yards per play and 15 first downs, both among the stingiest marks in Week 1.
The bigger question is whether it holds up. The 49ers' thin defensive tackle room and vulnerability against the run were exposed at times even in the opener, and heavier two-high and dime usage typically comes with trade-offs against physical rushing attacks.
Week 2 offers an early test of a different kind. San Francisco hosts the Miami Dolphins, an offense that looked pretty lackluster in Week 1 with a new system under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and quarterback Malik Willis. Whereas the Rams were more of a drop-back passing attack, the Dolphins lean on athleticism with Willis' ability to scramble and running back De'Von Achane's elusiveness. This difference in style pressures Morris to show whether his two-high and dime packages hold up against a different kind of offense, both in Week 2 and beyond.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Raheem Morris' 49ers defense is already breaking new ground
