Pressure can produce some interesting heroes.
San Francisco's special teamers, Jordan Willis and Talanoa Hufanga, against the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs in January of 2022, for example. Perhaps even cornerback Ambry Thomas earlier that season against the Los Angeles Rams, who's interception took San Francisco to the playoffs.
The 2025 Niners are likely to need some unlikely heroes, particularly given the defense's loss of experience and talent like Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. The fact the defense's average age was skewing young anyway, given the decision to part ways with a number of experienced depth pieces in the offseason, only adds to that calculation.
It's happened a few times already this season. Defensive tackle Alfred Collins was an unlikely hero in the Thursday Night Football win over the Rams in Week 3, for instance, but it's been lacking recently, particularly as the defense took some steps back. It's arguably not had a solid performance as a unit since the win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Enter safety Ji'Ayir Brown.
On a night where San Francisco's offense occasionally stuttered and sputtered through difficult patches against the Carolina Panthers, the third-year pro safety produced the performance of a lifetime.
One interception, killing a potentially game-levelling drive in the first quarter, would've been enough. But Brown showed up again in the fourth quarter, icing the game with his second takeaway of the beleaguered Panthers quarterback, Bryce Young:
Ji'Ayir Brown takes it right back for San Francisco!
CARvsSF on ESPN/ABC
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— NFL (@NFL) November 25, 2025
Those were the headline plays, but Brown was impressive in general. He recorded five tackles, for once showing solidity against the run, and added two pass breakups to his two interceptions.
It was a real tour de force of safety play from the former Penn State product, and his tandem with Malik Mustapha, while not always seeming the most obvious fit, produced a fantastic game, elevating coordinator Robert Saleh's defense.
For Brown, it's vindication after a difficult year. Originally dropped as far as the third-string option following the emergence of rookie Marques Sigle and second-year pro Malik Mustapha's return from injury, Brown, to his credit, rarely complained about his role. Having originally worked his way back into the lineup as the third safety in Saleh's "big nickel" defensive set, Brown ascended back to a starting job shortly thereafter.
Despite that, he's found consistent play difficult, becoming a lightning rod for criticism as the defense went through growing pains, not least from this writer himself.
Brown has, at times, seemed an odd fit next to Mustapha, being a very similar player in many respects. The easiest criticism would be neither player provided much in coverage.
With Monday's performance, however, Brown might have solved that issue.
It's good news for him, as he's turning round a career that was previously on the downslide, but it's good news for the 49ers, too. Saleh's defenses always seem to function better with high-quality safety play.
Let's hope Brown can produce more of it. The better he can be, and the better the defense can be, the better the Niners' chances of the playoffs.