Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman entered the 2012 season widely considered as the top-two inside linebackers in the entire NFL.

But NFL Films' analyst Greg Cosell believes Willis and Bowman haven't played as well this season.

"We can start by throwing out a few numbers. If you subtract the Arizona game – Arizona’s not a very good offense – they played in the other three games New York (Giants), Seattle and St. Louis. In those three games, they’ve given up an average of 148 yards rushing per game, and they’ve given up 12 runs of 10-plus yards in those three games. That’s not the 49ers defense we’ve come to expect. It might be blasphemous, but I think Willis and Bowman have not played as well of late in the run game. I think they’re playing a little too laterally as opposed to playing downhill with the aggression that we’ve come to expect."