Another Sunday, another key injury for the 49ers defense.
San Francisco rolled to a 33-22 road win over the Chicago Bears in Week 8 but got some more grim news on the injury front, as starting safety Jimmie Ward exited with a quad injury that coach Kyle Shanahan called “a pretty big concern” after the game.
Each level of the 49ers defense had to deal with significant injuries Sunday.
Earlier in the week, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw underwent season-ending surgery on his chronically-injured knee, while defensive lineman Dee Ford (concussion) and defensive tackle Mo Hurst (calf) were unable to play.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair also suffered a concussion in Week 7 that kept him out of Sunday’s game and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (groin) is still on the injured reserve. Not to mention Fred Warner exited in the second half Sunday for a concussion evaluation, but returned to the field of play.
In the secondary, starting safety Jaquiski Tartt was held out against the Bears after injuring his knee in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts. Add in Ward’s injury, and the 49ers are using out a defensive lineup that’s missing nearly half its starters.
As such, it’s time for the big stars to step up.
Nick Bosa continues to assert himself as an absolute force on the edge and looks like he hasn’t lost a step after recovering from last year’s ACL injury. Bosa racked up two sacks with an additional tackle-for-loss Sunday and pushed his season sack total to seven.
Without Ford, Armstead played on the interior of the d-line but didn’t have much of an impact on the game. He whiffed badly on Justin Fields during the rookie’s mesmerizing 22-yard touchdown run and didn’t get much penetration to the backfield.
Armstead is in the second season of the big five-year, $85 million contract extension he signed in 2020. His cap hit of $12.4 million is second on the team only to Jimmy Garoppolo, yet Armstead has yet to put up impressive numbers this season. Through seven games, Armstead has 18 tackles, one sack, two tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hits.
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The 49ers made a choice when they traded away DeForest Buckner last year and invested in Armstead. The 27-year-old needs to make a bigger impact on the game if the 49ers M.A.S.H. unit of a defense wants to win the next two weeks against a pair of high-quality division foes. Warner and Bosa are pulling their weight as leaders of the defense, but the same can't be said about Armstead.
The 49ers’ next two opponents, the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams, are currently 7-1 and among the league’s best opponents. They also have two of the NFL’s most potent offenses and will provide a much stiffer test than the Bears, who feature the league’s second-worst scoring offense and are being quarterbacked by a rookie.
Armstead, Bosa, Warner and Co. will have their hands full against MVP candidate Kyler Murray and the Cards this weekend.
