{"id":2982,"date":"2016-09-28T22:10:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T02:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=2982"},"modified":"2016-09-29T13:55:57","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T17:55:57","slug":"49ers-week-four-keys-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/09\/28\/49ers-week-four-keys-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco 49ers Week Four Keys to Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week was certainly a disappointing performance by the San Francisco 49ers<\/strong>\u00a0when they lost to the\u00a0Seattle Seahawks<\/strong>.\u00a0 This week does not look to be any easier with the Dallas Cowboys<\/strong> coming into Levi\u2019s Stadium<\/strong>. \u00a0The Cowboys have had their share of adversity this season.<\/p>\n

First, Tony Romo<\/a><\/strong> went down in the preseason after suffering a spinal fracture.\u00a0 Now, reports have surfaced that Dallas\u2019 best receiver,\u00a0Dez Bryant<\/a><\/strong>, has a hair line fracture in his knee cap<\/a>.\u00a0 Though he is listed as day-to-day, Bryant will obviously not be at one hundred percent.\u00a0 Fortunately for Dallas, rookie quarterback\u00a0Dak Prescott<\/a><\/strong> has stepped in and played well in place of Romo through the first three games.\u00a0 Pressuring the rookie quarterback is the first to key success for San Francisco. Below are the 49ers week four keys to victory.<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers Week Four Keys to Victory<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Put Pressure on Prescott<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dak Prescott has been quite impressive in his first three starts in the NFL<\/strong>.\u00a0 In fact, Prescott has yet to throw an interception.\u00a0 So far, Prescott has already thrown for 767 yards and has a 66.7 completion percentage.\u00a0 Prescott can certainly use his legs as well and is an extremely mobile quarterback.\u00a0 San Francisco needs to try and contain Prescott in the pocket as much as possible. \u00a0The Niners need to keep Prescott from beating them with his running ability and force him to be a pocket quarterback.<\/p>\n

Once again,\u00a0Arik Armstead<\/a><\/strong> and DeForest Buckner<\/strong><\/a> must be disciplined in keeping Prescott contained and not letting him run free.\u00a0 Linebackers NaVorro Bowman<\/strong> <\/a>and Michael Wilhoite<\/a><\/strong> will have a tough time accomplishing this. \u00a0In addition to monitoring their pass responsibilities, they will have to keep one eye focused on Prescott.\u00a0 They must not drop too deep unnecessarily and leave Prescott with a wide open middle of the field.<\/p>\n

Shut Down Ezekiel Elliot <\/strong><\/h3>\n

There were big expectations for Ezekiel Elliot<\/strong><\/a> coming into this season.\u00a0 Thus far, Elliot seems to be an all-pro caliber running back.\u00a0 Elliot has already carried the ball 71 times for 274 yards, with a 3.9 yard per-carry average.\u00a0 Elliot is an extremely decisive back. When he sees a hole he hits it with speed.\u00a0 In fact, the Dallas coaching staff has had to ask Elliot to be more patient and wait for the play to develop.\u00a0 Of course, much of Elliot\u2019s success can be attributed to the offensive line.\u00a0 Dallas has one of the best lines in the league, and it\u2019s also a big reason for Prescott\u2019s early achievements.<\/p>\n

The best way San Francisco can hope to stifle Elliot is to load up the box. \u00a0Put eight men at the line of scrimmage and challenge Dallas\u2019 offensive line.\u00a0 An overloaded attack may be the only way to achieve penetration into the backfield.\u00a0 The line backing corps will have to stay aware of pulling linemen and run formations.\u00a0 A pulling guard will always take a player to the ball.\u00a0 If Bowman and Wilhoite can anticipate an impending run play they will have a chance to stuff the hole at the line of scrimmage.\u00a0 Shutting down the run will also help towards forcing Prescott to be a pocket quarterback.\u00a0 In this way the first two keys to victory will in theory support each other. \u00a0The 49ers need to shut down one aspect of the Dallas offense and put the entire onus on the other to score points.<\/p>\n

Blaine Gabbert Must Play Well<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Blaine Gabbert<\/a><\/strong> must gain some confidence and step up this week at home against Dallas.\u00a0 Gabbert has thrown an interception in each game thus far this season.\u00a0 He needs to focus more on ball security.\u00a0 Gabbert cannot afford to give the ball back to the Cowboys with turnovers in this game.<\/p>\n

Also, the 49ers signal caller has to get Torrey Smith<\/a><\/strong> more involved with the offense.\u00a0 So far, Smith has only been targeted eight times this season and he has only a total of 103 receiving yards.\u00a0 Smith is still a top tier receiver and should be Gabbert\u2019s number one target.\u00a0 The Cowboys secondary is the team’s biggest weakness overall.\u00a0 Pro Football Focus<\/strong> has the Cowboys secondary ranked almost last in the league at 30th<\/sup><\/a>.\u00a0 Gabbert and Chip Kelly<\/strong> have to be aware of this, and need to try and take advantage of Dallas\u2019 biggest deficiency.<\/p>\n

If the 49ers can focus on these keys they just might get a win against the Cowboys this week.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

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