The San Francisco 49ers will try to prevent their 2021 season from spiraling out of control when they seek to stop a two-game losing streak this Sunday in Glendale against the Arizona Cardinals, and they will be doing so with Trey Lance making the start at quarterback.
Here are five questions to keep an eye on.
1. How will Trey Lance handle his first NFL start?
The rookie quarterback will be making the first start of his NFL career and his first start since 10/3/2020, his lone game of the 2020 season at North Dakota State, over 365 days ago.
Lance was a bit up and down throughout the second half last week against Seattle, however this was his first prolonged appearance as a 49er and his practice reps were limited due to be the backup.
This week Lance has taken all of the starting snaps during practice and will be operating a gameplan designed to suit his strengths. As long as the 49ers offensive line finds a way to block Chandler Jones, second in the NFL with 5, Lance should be able to make enough plays through the air to give the 49ers a chance to win.
Another key for Lance will be his ability to hold onto the football. Arizona has forced the third most turnovers through the first four weeks of the season. Lance famously went a full season in college without throwing an interception.
2. Can the 49ers defense contain Kyler Murray?
Murray has made four starts against San Francisco, his lone victory coming during the 2020 season opener. In that win Murray ran 13 times for 91 yards.
For the 49ers defense to have any chance of stopping the Arizona offense it needs to find a way to force Murray to stay in the pocket and beat them with his arm. To make this happened the pass rush must be able to maintain their rush lanes. And that still might not be enough.
3. How will the San Francisco secondary hold up?
Keeping Murray in the pocket is step one, figuring out how to stop the other weapons in the passing game is step two.
Arizona has averaged the second most yards per pass attempt in the NFL this season, 8.6 yards. A big reason for this is the Cardinals have perhaps the best skill position players in the NFL, and they are able to get them all involved.
Among that group are wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, Rondale Moore, Christian Kirk, tight end Maxx Williams, and running back Chase Edmonds. Each of these players has averaged between 3.8 and 5 receptions per game. That type of distribution will make it very difficult for the San Francisco linebackers and secondary to slow down the Arizona offense.
Edmonds is listed as questionable for the game with a shoulder injury. If he is not able to go that would be one less player to worry about.
4. Will the 49ers hold the Arizona offense under 30 points?
Arizona has scored 31 points or more in each of their first four games to start the season. This has been made possible by a defense which has forced nine turnovers, along with the strong play of Murray and his weapons. If the 49ers are unable to put a stop to this streak on Sunday, it’s unlikely they will be able to pull out a victory.
5. Can the 49ers take advantage of Arizona’s run defense?
The area to keep an eye on with the 49er’s offense is their ability to get the run game going. The Arizona defense has allowed 5.4 yards per rushing attempt, second worst in the NFL. San Francisco has struggled to get their ground game on track; however, they were able to push Seattle around and average 4.9 yards per attempt, their best in a game for 2021.
Perhaps this is the perfect time for the 49ers to start a quarterback that has the ability to beat teams with his legs and make those around him better. Last week against Seattle the 49ers running backs averaged 5 yards per carry with Lance on the field compared to 4.7 with Jimmy Garoppolo.
George Kittle is listed as doubtful for the game. The tight end is a big part of blocking in the run game, so it will be on Kyle Shanahan to come up with a plan to minimize the effect if Kittle is not able to go.
Prediction:
49ers 27 Cardinals 23
My gut feeling was to flip this score with Arizona coming out victorious. The more I looked into the numbers the more evenly matched these two teams became. For example, the lack of run defense for Arizona plays into a strength of San Francisco. This, combined with not turning the ball over should reduce Arizona’s time of possession, and keeping that offense off the field is a major positive. And finally, the Arizona defense has only been able to average 1.3 sacks per game since week one, tied for lowest in the NFL over that time.
Getting Mitchell back will be huge in this game.
RAZOR!! How are you doing?
Great point. Mitchell, Sermon and Patrick all need to pound the ball in this one.
Good, thanks for asking.
Mitchell’s the man. If he can improve his vision the skies the limit. Not sure what his yards after contact are but they should be among the best in the league….
Mitchell is only averaging 1.2 yards after contact, but that took a hit in Philly when the Oline struggled.
Sermon is at 1.9 right now. Last week helped that out I think.
Keeping their offense off the field will go along ways towards victory. The Niners offense needs to have time consuming drives and have at least a 24 point lead going into the fourth quarter for the Niners to have any chance for a win.
Hey UC!
Yes. Controlling the clock and holding onto the ball are both must have’s for the 49ers to win.
Under!
Going to be tough to beat the Cardinals. They can attack defenses with multiple pass catchers.
The Niners need to:
– Have a good clock chewing run game
– Ball security
– Red zone efficiency on both sides the ball
Things to watch for…
– When Trey Lance evades pressure he holds the ball very low. He needs to be careful about strip sacks.
– The Cards up running yards in fits and starts. Their defensive line will absolutely stone the running back on one play. The next play they’ll be gouged for a big gain because cut back lanes are wide open.
– I watched AZ game vs the Vikings. Their run defense was overall pretty bad, except in the 4th quarter.
Going to be tough, especially if Kittle can’t play. But it will be fun too.
Darn
” Source: 49ers are placing TE George Kittle on injured reserve due to his calf injury.
Kittle must miss three games. The team believes he would be dealing with the condition all season if he continued to try to play. There’s a good chance he’ll be back Nov. 7 to face Cardinals.”
– Matt Maiocco
The 2 keys I see to the game, is the play of Trey Lance ( it doesn’t have to be great) and turnovers. Arizona is +5 and the Niners are -5. Turnovers are the difference between these 2 teams. I agree with your prediction if Trey does well and we win the turnover battle.
The key is how much the plan needs be dumbdowned to make Lance successful.
If AZ can make adjustments in the second half to counter him, we’ll be done.
Lance has two weapons: His legs(scramble) and a his arm (long pass), everything else is iffy(no touch) and not reliable (hurried throws).
Sunday will tell us if that is enough.
He just has to be calm and not too anxious – that is the only weakness I see in TL so far.
I feel much better about this game than if Beathard or Mullens were starting. Those two are known knowns. Lance is an unknown known. :)
Thank you for the smart analysis sir. Indeed Mr. Lance brings the dual threat of passing the footballs and running the footballs. He has the intangible quality which will keep awake the DC all the way though the night. I am usually eager to support the 49er from Mira Lardo , FL but I am stuck in the IA after rally. Oye Vey . I feel the same way about Midwest as I do about the holiday Christmas.
On the side note I am shocked that the wife of the Urban Myers would stay with that boorish man. She had absurd justification that “we are all sinners ” . Speak only for yourself sister . My man is the pinnacle of integrity.
Oy vey???? Someone replaced you?
I can not be replaced. My catalog description says I am hot euro girl – one of a kind.
The question overriding all the questions. Since the opening game, the team has lost starters at both CB positions, SCB, the top 4 at the RB depth chart, ILB, PK, LT for a time, now QB and all-world TE. (Do you have a question there, ribico? Ted Lasso reference). Can Shanahan and team pull enough rabbits out of their helmets to keep in contention range ‘til some of these players return?
Game day . Let’s go 49ers.
Mira dramas coreanos, chinos, tailandeses y japoneses en línea,
Estreno con subtítulos en español gratis.