San Francisco 49ers Defense Back in Form with Dominant 2nd Half Against Rams

On Monday night, the St. Louis Rams jumped out to an early 14-0 lead over the visiting San Francisco 49ers.

Second-year quarterback Austin Davis and the Rams offense were efficient, decisive and made the 49ers' vaunted defense look incredibly pedestrian. The two touchdowns came within the first three St. Louis drives, and Austin went 7-of-8 for 103 yards and a touchdown during that span.

For much of the first half, the San Francisco defense couldn't control the line of scrimmage, and the group frequently failed to track and cover receivers and ball-carriers. 

Some creative play-calling by Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer certainly helped St. Louis as it jumped out to a big lead, but the 49ers defense was out of sync, outmatched and on its heels early in the divisional contest.

For a moment, it appeared that the 49ers could be sitting on the wrong side of another prime-time blowout. Then, everything changed. 

The San Francisco defense stiffened toward the end of the first half while the offense found a score just before halftime, and the direction of momentum completely flipped. 

While the 49ers offense deserves credit for erasing the deficit and putting enough points on the board to win, this was a game won by the defense. 

The Rams were held to just a field goal after their dominant first quarter, and Davis was held to 133 yards passing the rest of the way. The 49ers also held St. Louis to a mere 93 rushing yards for the game and registered a total of five sacks.

	Yds Allowed	Points Allowed	Sacks	Turnovers
1st quarter	149	14	1	0
Rest of Game	170	3	4	1

With St. Louis on offense and down by seven points with just over a minute left, rookie defensive back Dontae Johnson sealed the game with an interception and touchdown return.

The seven other second-half possessions by St. Louis resulted in five punts, one field goal and the end of the game. Three of those punts followed a three-and-out series. 

Had the 49ers defense not found a way to take control, especially in the second half, this game could have easily resulted in a St. Louis victory. The impressive part of the dynamic defensive performance is that the 49ers had to endure a number of significant absences in order to pull it off.

Star linebacker NaVorro Bowman is still working his way back from last year's knee injury, defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey is out with a biceps injury and cornerback Tramaine Brock hasn't played since Week 1 due to a foot injury. Aldon Smith is still suspended.

Linebacker Patrick Willis and safety Jimmie Ward both exited the game with injuries and did not return.

"We had some adversity early, but our guys really showed championship character," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said after the game, according to Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. "Really proud how they stepped up. It was a hardworking win. Thought our guys really set their jaws and got it done."

Despite the absences, the 49ers defense played up to the championship-caliber level to which fans have become accustomed. Stand-in players like Dan Skuta (three tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble) stepped up in a big way, as did seasoned veterans like Antoine Bethea (five tackles, one sack) and Ahmad Brooks (five tackles, two sacks).

Aside from the first 15 minutes of the contest, this was arguably the 49ers defense's most complete performance  of the season. If the unit continues to play to this level, San Francisco is going to be a very, very difficult out for opponents, especially once the roster is at full strength.