SANTA CLARA — Safety Ji’Ayir Brown picked a key moment to abandon his responsibility in the 49ers’ 20-9 win over the Carolina Panthers.

And 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh had no problem with Brown’s decision.

Brown’s assignment was to cover the deep middle of the field on a second-and-8 play from the 49ers’ 33-yard line in the fourth quarter. The 49ers were protecting an 11-point lead.

Instead, Brown allowed two Carolina Panthers receivers to get deep while Brown set his sights Tetairoa McMillan over the middle.

Brown made the interception — his second of the game. His first interception came against Bryce Young in the end zone in the first half.

Brown was rewarded with his first NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award.

Saleh described Brown’s instinctive play as the difference between playing “fit ball” and football.

“If he did it by the book, he wouldn’t have made that play,” Saleh said. “And, so, he’s improving big time with regard to understanding the game and being more of a football player.”

Brown, a third-year pro, has solidified his job after rookie Marquis Sigle replaced him in the starting lineup at the opening of the 2025 NFL season. Brown worked hard to get back on the field, and he has earned Saleh’s confidence with his work habits.

“If you say there’s 60 plays, there might be three or four times in a game where you just know what that play’s going to be,” Saleh said. “You know it. And you’ve got to have the confidence through film study and the confidence in one another, confidence in your teammates and coaches, and we’ve got to have confidence in our players that when they know, they know, and they go take that shot.”

Saleh showed his exuberance on the sideline as Brown made the interception that amounted to a game-clinching defensive play.

“People look at it as one play, but there are probably six hours dedicated to that one moment,” Saleh said. “And it happened. And so, the joy you’re seeing on the field is for him and the amount of work that you know that he went through and the amount of trial and error that he had to go through.”

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