The 49ers keep surviving by the skin of their teeth, and now the latest call to the front lines belongs to Keion White.
San Francisco is 3-0, but the injury pile keeps growing. Nick Bosa is out after suffering a calf injury in practice, and rookie Romello Height is expected to miss Sunday’s game with a hand injury. That leaves White as one of the few healthy edge defenders still standing for a defense that keeps having to reshuffle on the fly.
White is listed as questionable because of a hamstring injury, but the 49ers need him on the field and they need production, too. Against the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, there’s no hiding the assignment: pressure Bo Nix, disrupt the pocket, and help make up for the missing firepower up front.
Through three games, White has already posted two sacks, five pressures, three run stops and a forced fumble. Those are solid numbers, and they put him well ahead of where he was a year ago. For San Francisco, though, “solid” may not be enough this week.
The matchup gets tougher because Denver’s offensive line has long been one of the league’s better pass-protecting groups. Last season, Nix tied Matthew Stafford for the lowest rate of pressured dropbacks in the NFL.
When the Broncos keep him clean, the offense hums. When they don’t, the cracks show.
That part matters. Nix ranks 28th of 31 qualifying quarterbacks in both EPA per play and success rate when pressured, per SumerSports.
In Sean Payton’s structure, he’s dangerous. Once he’s forced off his spot, the play often turns into a scramble or falls apart.
He’s also been under more heat this season than usual. Per PFF, Nix has been pressured on 43 percent of his dropbacks, the seventh-highest rate in the NFL.
That’s where White comes in. Even with Osa Odighizuwa in the mix after the offseason trade, White has been the more productive pass rusher on the stat sheet so far. With Bosa unavailable and the rest of the edge room thinned out, the burden lands on White to create disruption and make life uncomfortable for Nix.
If he can do that, the 49ers give themselves a real chance to keep rolling. If not, Denver’s protection could let Nix stay in rhythm just long enough to tilt the afternoon the Broncos’ way.
In Other News...
49ers Escape Denver With A Bigger Concern Heading Into Seattle
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The most notable concern centers on fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who injured his knee and is preliminarily believed to have a sprain with an intact ACL, pending MRI results. Safety Marques Sigle and cornerback Upton Stout also left with injuries, though none of the early signs point to anything season-ending, leaving the 49ers waiting on more clarity as they turn their attention to Seattle. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Win Still Left Kyle Shanahan With An Uncomfortable Debate
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The 49ers still moved the ball well enough to finish with 358 yards and they stayed efficient enough on third down, going 6 of 13 without turning it over. But for a coach who just passed a legend and for an offense that had already set a higher bar earlier in the season, the bigger question coming out of the game was not the record book moment. It was how much Shanahan trusts this version of the offense to find its rhythm again before the schedule starts demanding it. [Read more 🡒]
Dre Greenlaw Had A Personal Message For Sean Payton Sunday
Dre Greenlaw had a little extra edge Sunday in the 49ers matchup with Denver, and it showed in a moment that quickly made the rounds. The linebacker, now back in San Francisco on a one-year contract, was caught on camera telling Broncos coach Sean Payton that Denver made a mistake letting him go after injuries cut short his run there.
For the 49ers, it was another reminder that Greenlaw is not just back, he matters to their defense in a big way. After spending the previous season with the Broncos, he has reestablished himself as an important piece in San Francisco, and the message he delivered Sunday carried the kind of personal sting that tends to follow a player who felt he had something to prove. [Read more 🡒]