Fresh faces helped guide the 49ers to victory in Week 1

These guys stepped up.

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The San Francisco 49ers went through a lot of change this offseason. Some of it will prove to be for the worse, but plenty ended up proving to be for the better this week. The team got plenty of contributions from players and coaches who were not with the team or were not known last season. 

The 49ers' return to Robert Saleh has felt like a fresh homecoming. Saleh has been reinvigorated after his rough stint with the New York Jets, and the defense looks like they are getting back to its old ways.

Seattle’s offense was stuck for the majority of the day. They scored early and hit a big pass late in the half to find points and put one drive together in the second half. Other than that, the Seahawks' offense struggled. 

Saleh has a young roster, and if this is just the start of things to come, then he has them in a great spot. 

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Marques Sigle 

The best rookie in week one was the fifth-round pick from Kansas State. It appeared that he beat out Ji’Ayir Brown to start in week one, but it was not confirmed until earlier in the day. Sigle started, and he played well, making six tackles and recovering a fumble. The team is overly reliant on their youth this season, so it was huge to see Sigle take this step. 

If Sigle keeps this up, and Malik Mustapha gets healthy, the 49ers may have found a strong young duo of talented safeties. 

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Dee Winters, Kalia Davis, Ricky Pearsall, Ben Bartch 

These guys were on the roster last season, but their contributions this week may have already been more significant than anything they have done with the 49ers. Pearsall looked like a top wide receiver and put up over 100 yards. 

Dee Winters played every snap and looked as good as Dre Greenlaw would have. Kalia Davis is finally healthy and showing why the team invested so much time into him. Ben Bartch looked like a better fit for the scheme than Aaron Banks, who is making significantly more money.

Deebo Samuel, Javon Hargrave, Greenlaw, and Banks all signed big deals this offseason, and all of the 49ers' cheaper, in-house replacements stepped up when their number was called. 

If they can get these four to play like they did in Week 1, the 49ers are going to be dangerous this season.