{"id":1575,"date":"2016-09-14T12:03:01","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T16:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=1575"},"modified":"2016-09-14T12:03:01","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T16:03:01","slug":"san-francisco-49ers-keys-to-victory-in-week-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/09\/14\/san-francisco-49ers-keys-to-victory-in-week-two\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco 49ers Keys to Victory in Week Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Francisco 49ers<\/strong> are coming off an impressive victory on Monday Night Football<\/strong> over the Los Angeles Rams<\/strong>.\u00a0 The jury is still out whether or not the 49ers are that good, or the Rams are just that bad.\u00a0 Regardless, the team will play a more formidable opponent this Sunday<\/strong> when they travel to Carolina<\/strong> to take on the Panthers<\/strong>.\u00a0 The 49ers will not have the emotional advantage of being at home, and they are facing the defending NFC<\/strong> champions.\u00a0 There are three key factors that San Francisco must try and influence if they want to have any chance of beating Carolina at home.<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers Keys to Victory in Week Two<\/h2>\n

Contain Cam Newton<\/h3>\n

Containing Cam Newton<\/strong><\/a> seemed like an impossible task until the Super Bowl<\/strong> in February<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 The Denver Broncos<\/strong> showed us it can be done.\u00a0 However, the 49ers do not have the defensive talent of the Broncos.\u00a0 They will have to rely on discipline and focus to keep Newton from turning every third down into a conversion or big play.<\/p>\n

Last season in addition to throwing for over 3,800 yards, Newton also ran for 636 yards on 132 attempts.\u00a0 49ers outside linebackers Ahmad Brooks<\/a><\/strong> and Tank Carradine<\/a><\/strong> must stay with their assignments and not let Newton break contain.\u00a0 Defensive tackles DeForest Buckner<\/a><\/strong> and Arik Armstead<\/a><\/strong> cannot over-pursue on their rushing attack and need to keep Newton in the pocket as much as possible.\u00a0 If the secondary can do its job as well, keeping pressure and containment should lead to sacks.<\/p>\n

Roll Coverage to Kelvin Benjamin<\/h3>\n

Kelvin Benjamin<\/strong><\/a> came out with a bang against the Denver Broncos during the 2016 season opener.\u00a0 Benjamin is certainly a welcome new target for Cam Newton, and adds a dynamic new element to the Panthers offense.\u00a0 It is paramount that the 49ers do not lose this game on the deep ball.<\/em>\u00a0 Safeties Antoine Bethea<\/a><\/strong> and Eric Reid<\/a><\/strong> must do everything in their power to keep Benjamin in front of them.<\/p>\n

Benjamin has the ability to take the top off a defense, and a few deep touchdowns could put San Francisco in trouble quickly.\u00a0 The 49ers need to roll and disguise coverages to help take pressure off corners Tramaine Brock<\/a><\/strong> and Jimmie Ward<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 This will be a difficult test for the 49ers secondary, and after this game we will have a better understanding of their real abilities.<\/p>\n

Exploit Carolina’s Secondary<\/h3>\n

Carolina lost the heart of its secondary this off-season when Josh Norman<\/a><\/strong> left to play with the Washington Redskins<\/a>.\u00a0 In his place the Panthers are starting rookie corner James Bradberry<\/a><\/strong> out of Samford College<\/strong>.\u00a0 As talented as Bradberry is, he is no Josh Norman.\u00a0 This is the only real weakness the 49ers can exploit against a stingy Carolina defense.<\/p>\n

Odds are Carlos Hyde<\/a><\/strong> will not find much running room come Sunday, and will most likely be held to under 100 yards for the second game.\u00a0 Chip Kelly<\/strong> will have to let Blaine Gabbert<\/a><\/strong> sling the ball in his fast paced offense.\u00a0 A succession of quick throws and out-routes should be utilized to frustrate the Panthers defense.\u00a0 This will keep linebackers Luke Kuechly<\/a><\/strong> and Thomas Davis<\/a><\/strong> from becoming too much of a factor.\u00a0 After wearing Bradberry down with completion after completion, take a deep shot.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n