SANTA CLARA — For much of the season, the state of the 49ers’ defense could be summed up by two numbers. One varied from week to week, seemingly only growing larger with every passing injury. The other remained persistently, consistently the same.

The number of All-Pro selections watching from the suite level of Levi’s Stadium was the same as it has been since Fred Warner joined Nick Bosa with season-ending injuries, but that other number, the one that was stuck at zero for seven weeks, has begun to budge in a big way the past two weeks.

“We opened that can of worms, and now we’re just flying,” safety Malik Mustapha said after San Francisco’s win over the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football. “We’re dialed in.”

The can of worms is the 49ers’ ability to take the ball away from thei

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