The San Francisco 49ers walked away with an ugly, at times, win over Carolina, but it doesn’t matter how you win; they did win, and the 49ers have eight wins on the season. The 49ers’ defense performed very well on national TV, and Robert Saleh boosted his resume as a head coaching candidate with an inspired performance by his defense on MNF. With a 20-9 win, the 49ers are firmly in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot in the NFC. Now, the 49ers travel on a short week to Cleveland for a matchup with the Browns and Shedeur Sanders before their bye week.
Who are two 49ers who bounced back on Monday?
Defense: Ji’Ayir Brown
With easily his best performance as a professional, Ji’Ayir Brown flashed the skills that the 49ers were enamored with when they selected him in the third round as the future of their safety position; two interceptions, several defensive stops, and the highest defensive and coverage grade of any 49ers defender. Brown’s confidence is rising thanks to the coaching staff’s confidence, and he played fast and free on Monday.
Brown baited Bryce Young at the goal line on his first interception, as the safety stood in his running lane before falling into the passing lane and taking the football away. Brown’s play has improved, and hopefully, the confidence will continue to grow. If Brown turns the corner and can be consistent at safety, it feels like found money for the 49ers in 2025.
Offense: Spencer Burford
Week 11 was a rough one for Burford, who continues to split snaps with Ben Bartch at left guard. As the lowest graded offensive player with an offensive grade of 29.4 against Arizona, Burford turned his performance around in 35 snaps on Monday. While Burford only allowed a single pressure and a hurry in Week 11, he was also the lowest-graded pass blocker and the lowest-graded pass blocker in true pass sets.
On Monday, Burford allowed a pressure and a QB hit, but finished as the fourth-highest-graded 49ers offensive player at 81.0. Also, Burford graded out as the third-highest pass blocker behind Dominick Puni and Trent Williams. Five of the 49ers’ offensive linemen made up the top six in offensive grades from Monday. Bartch finished with a 57.0 offensive grade.
Just a very solid game all around for Burford while being in a rotation with Bartch. We don’t have to know the method behind the madness; as long as it works, and it did on Monday.
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