Well, well, well, the San Francisco 49ers schooled the Rams 28-0 on Monday Night Football and are 1-0 and atop the NFC West. The defense was nothing short of stellar and Carlos Hyde did not disappoint. Let’s relish that for a second because it feels good.
Ok, now let’s get back to reality, because the Niners are off to Carolina this week to take on the Panthers, and that’s going to be harder than the Rams.
In this week’s Talking Touchdowns game preview, I take a look at the match up and what it will take for the 49ers to even compete in this one. Some highlights are:
- That 49ers defense vs. Cam Newton. Chip Kelly said it will take all 11 guys to bring him down, and honestly, it would be great if the 49ers could have more. Sunday will be a good test for the Niners’ front seven, especially as they try to stop Newton and RB Jonathan Stewart.
- The 49ers will face their toughest linebacker duo of the season in Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. Assuming it’s the same starting group for SF, Joe Staley, Zane Beadles, Andrew Tiller, Trent Brown, and Daniel Kilgore will have to work overtime to both protect QB Blaine Gabbert and give RB Carlos Hyde room to run.
- Speaking of Hyde, he is the star of this offense. There is no question about that. Can he perform against the Panthers scary-good defense? That will be the question and answer of whether the 49ers can get anything going. Of course the other component of that will be Gabbert and his accuracy. He is going to have to do a better job of getting the ball into the hands of his receiver if the Niners even want to think about scoring.
- And of course, my game prediction!
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