Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
Oct 14, 2026 1:00 AM
Renardo Green’s two-interception masterclass and Gracen Halton’s strip-sack touchdown fueled a dominant defensive showing, overcoming uncharacteristic struggles from veteran stars to clinch a gritty road victory in Seattle.
The San Francisco 49ers improved to 5-0 on the 2026 season following a wild 32-29 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. While the offense put up points late, Raheem Morris' defense set the tone early with four sacks and three forced turnovers. Pro Football Focus (PFF) has released its official defensive player grades and snap counts from the contest.
Highest & Lowest Graded 49ers (Defense)
Highest-Graded 49ers: Defense
- Renardo Green, CB: 92.3 (63 snaps)
- Gracen Halton, DT: 90.6 (34 snaps)
- Ji'Ayir Brown, FS: 83.3 (63 snaps)
- Jaden Dugger, LB: 78.1 (47 snaps)
- Fred Warner, LB: 75.1 (63 snaps)
Lowest-Graded 49ers: Defense
- Naquan Jones, DT: 28.2 (12 snaps)
- Jack Jones, CB: 30.0 (3 snaps)
- Luke Gifford, LB: 43.0 (19 snaps)
- Deommodore Lenoir, CB: 43.8 (63 snaps)
- Sebastian Valdez, DT: 46.5 (33 snaps)
Coverage & Secondary Performance
Cornerback Renardo Green turned in a career-defining performance in Seattle, earning a game high 92.3 overall defensive grade and a 92.6 coverage grade. Green, who was targeted five times on the afternoon, allowed just two catches for five yards while hauling in two interceptions off Sam Darnold. Free safety Ji'Ayir Brown also anchored the back end with an 83.3 overall grade.
On the other end of the spectrum, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir struggled in run support (32.1 run-defense grade), finishing with a 43.8 overall grade. All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner experienced an uncharacteristic afternoon in coverage, receiving his lowest coverage mark of the season at 29.8 after surrendering two catches for 30 yards on two targets.
Pass Rush & Front Seven Production
Rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton put together a breakout game on the interior, posting a game-high 79.0 pass-rush grade. Halton recorded three tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, three total pressures, a forced fumble, and a strip-recovery touchdown in the end zone right before halftime.
San Francisco generated 21 total pressures on Darnold:
- Keion White: Led the defense with a team-high 5 pressures and 1 sack (68.1 pass-rush grade).
- Gracen Halton & Osa Odighizuwa: 3 pressures each (1 sack each).
- Jaden Dugger, Romello Height & Khalid Kareem: 2 pressures each.
- Naquan Jones, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Upton Stout, Sebastian Valdez, Fred Warner & Mykel Williams: 1 pressure each.
Making his 2026 season debut returning from last year's ACL injury, defensive end Mykel Williams logged a team-low 50.4 pass-rush grade, finishing with two tackles and one pressure on limited snaps.
Run Defense & Tackling Grades
Linebacker Fred Warner made up for his coverage mark by dominating against the run, earning a game-high 95.4 run-defense grade and recording six defensive stops. Rookie linebacker Jaden Dugger shined in open-space tackling, tying Seattle's Ernest Jones IV for a game-high 80.8 tackling grade while finishing second on the team with 9 total tackles.
The 49ers recorded seven missed tackles on the afternoon: Malik Mustapha (2), Fred Warner (2), Ji'Ayir Brown (1), Gracen Halton (1; 30.6 tackling grade), and Upton Stout (1).
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