San Francisco 49ers coordinator Robert Saleh’s defense was pretty misleading in 2018. On one hand, it didn’t allow a ton of yardage — 5,546 in total, which was 13th best in the NFL last year.
But on the other hand, Saleh boasted the league’s fifth worst scoring defense, giving up a total of 435 points and coming in with a record-low seven turnovers generated.
There are a number of reasons behind this. A lack of a pass rush (San Francisco had just 37 sacks last year) could explain a lot of the problems. No pass rush equates to opponents’ quarterbacks having more time in the pocket, which allows their receivers to get open, therefore avoiding would-be interceptions.