Coach Kyle Shanahan made some major changes to San Francisco’s defense this offseason in hopes of getting the 49ers back to the dominant level of 2021 and 2022.
New coordinator Nick Sorensen’s new unit will get its first real test on Monday night with a very challenging opponent: the Niners take on four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
The 40-year-old Rodgers is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon that ended his debut season with the Jets after just four plays, but the 49ers know full well that he has the mental and physical strength to exploit any mistakes.
“My scouting report says he’s a legendary quarterback and you have to play your best because he’s the kind of guy that makes a fool of you,” said defensive end Leonard Floyd, who has lost eight of nine games against Rodgers when Floyd was in Chicago and Rodgers was in Green Bay.
“If you give him some momentum, he’ll keep that momentum the whole game. You just have to be on your Ps and Qs because he scores every time you give him the chance.”
The Niners have a long history of playing against Rodgers when he was in Green Bay, having faced him nine times in the regular season and four more times in the playoffs.
Six of those games have come since Shanahan took over in 2017, with Rodgers winning three of four regular-season games and San Francisco winning both playoff games. But it’s never easy, as Rodgers has a 104.9 passing rating with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions in those six games.
“He’s always been a smart guy,” All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner said. “The ability to extend plays, to make the big plays, to control the game, and obviously make the plays in the big moments. There’s nothing you can just point to and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to stop him from doing this.’ You’ve got to prepare for everything. We’ve got a big test. … He does it all. He’s one of the best of all time for a reason.”
The game against Rodgers will be a good test to see if the decision to fire Steve Wilks after one season as coordinator and promote Sorensen was the right one.
San Francisco was one of the best defenses in two seasons under DeMeco Ryans, but couldn’t reach that level under Wilks. Wilks made a number of changes that created a gap between the front and back of the defense.
The 49ers overcame those regular-season woes to clinch the top seed, but were exposed in the playoffs. The run defense was battered in wins over Green Bay and Detroit. San Francisco then allowed four straight scoring drives to end an overtime loss in the Super Bowl to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Shanahan promoted Sorensen to take over, banking on his familiarity with the style of play the team had under Ryans in 2022 to help the Niners return to their old ways. He also brought in Brandon Staley as an assistant to work in some new wrinkles in coverage.
The front end was overhauled with longtime regular Arik Armstead being released in a salary cap move. Floyd was signed to be the bookend rusher opposite Nick Bosa who had been missing the last few years, with Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott sharing the duties inside alongside Javon Hargrave.
But the strength of the unit remains Bosa, Warner and cornerback Charvarius Ward, who is coming off his best season as a pro when he was named to the second team All-Pro.
Ward believes San Francisco has the team’s best secondary in his three seasons with the team, thanks in part to the emergence of cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, who has excelled at switching between the slot and the other outside position.
But it won’t be easy to do that against Rodgers, Garrett Wilson and the Jets.
“He’s a dog,” Ward said of Rodgers. “Very smart, veteran. He knows what we play, probably because we’re on the same defense they have in New York, but Hall of Famer, one of the best players ever, best quarterback. We’re going to have our hands full. But best against best, that’s for sure.”
Josh Dubow contributed to this report.
