The San Francisco 49ers are coming off an impressive victory on Monday Night Football over the Los Angeles Rams. The jury is still out whether or not the 49ers are that good, or the Rams are just that bad. Regardless, the team will play a more formidable opponent this Sunday when they travel to Carolina to take on the Panthers. The 49ers will not have the emotional advantage of being at home, and they are facing the defending NFC champions. There are three key factors that San Francisco must try and influence if they want to have any chance of beating Carolina at home.
San Francisco 49ers Keys to Victory in Week Two
Contain Cam Newton
Containing Cam Newton seemed like an impossible task until the Super Bowl in February. The Denver Broncos showed us it can be done. However, the 49ers do not have the defensive talent of the Broncos. They will have to rely on discipline and focus to keep Newton from turning every third down into a conversion or big play.
Last season in addition to throwing for over 3,800 yards, Newton also ran for 636 yards on 132 attempts. 49ers outside linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Tank Carradine must stay with their assignments and not let Newton break contain. Defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead cannot over-pursue on their rushing attack and need to keep Newton in the pocket as much as possible. If the secondary can do its job as well, keeping pressure and containment should lead to sacks.
Roll Coverage to Kelvin Benjamin
Kelvin Benjamin came out with a bang against the Denver Broncos during the 2016 season opener. Benjamin is certainly a welcome new target for Cam Newton, and adds a dynamic new element to the Panthers offense. It is paramount that the 49ers do not lose this game on the deep ball. Safeties Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid must do everything in their power to keep Benjamin in front of them.
Benjamin has the ability to take the top off a defense, and a few deep touchdowns could put San Francisco in trouble quickly. The 49ers need to roll and disguise coverages to help take pressure off corners Tramaine Brock and Jimmie Ward. This will be a difficult test for the 49ers secondary, and after this game we will have a better understanding of their real abilities.
Exploit Carolina’s Secondary
Carolina lost the heart of its secondary this off-season when Josh Norman left to play with the Washington Redskins. In his place the Panthers are starting rookie corner James Bradberry out of Samford College. As talented as Bradberry is, he is no Josh Norman. This is the only real weakness the 49ers can exploit against a stingy Carolina defense.
Odds are Carlos Hyde will not find much running room come Sunday, and will most likely be held to under 100 yards for the second game. Chip Kelly will have to let Blaine Gabbert sling the ball in his fast paced offense. A succession of quick throws and out-routes should be utilized to frustrate the Panthers defense. This will keep linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis from becoming too much of a factor. After wearing Bradberry down with completion after completion, take a deep shot. As much as a few deep plays to Benjamin could take San Francisco out of this game, a few deep completions of their own could keep them in it.
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