The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints matchup is getting to be one of the better out-of-division rivalries in the NFC. It seems every year they meet in an important game and every year it comes down to the end. This year is no different as far as the importance of the game goes. Whether it comes down to the end or not is still to be decided. With the 49ers coming off a very tough loss at home against the St. Louis Rams dropping them to 4-4 and third in the NFC West, they desperately need to win this game.
The Saints, on the other hand, are coming off a big divisional road win against the Carolina Panthers. While the Saints also have a record of 4-4, that’s a good enough record to have them sitting in first place in the NFC South. Here’s a preview of their matchup this Sunday:
Jimmy Graham vs 49ers Linebackers
In the last two games Saints tight end Jimmy Graham has been much closer to his old form before he got injured. He’s had 12 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns with a combined PFF (subscription) rating of 4.2. This could be a disaster for the 49ers considering their two All-Pro inside linebackers (the two usually in charge of covering receiving tight ends), Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, will be out with injuries for this game. That leaves Michael Wilhoite and rookie Chris Borland to be helping in coverage against Graham. To say the least, this is not a desirable matchup for the 49ers. Even with safety help Graham will have an enormous mismatch. If the 49ers want to slow Graham down they’ll need to get pressure on Drew Brees and disguise coverages and blitzes to hopefully confuse Graham. Because if the 49ers just line Borland or Wilhoite straight up against Graham, it’s going to be a long day for the 49ers.
Will 49ers’ Offensive Line Issues Get Corrected?
Last week the 49ers surrendered eight sacks to the Rams. In all their previous games combined, the Rams only had six total sacks. The best PFF pass blocking grade for the offensive line for that game belonged to left guard Mike Iupati with a 0.9 grade. The lowest was rookie center Marcus Martin with -2.9. This was Martin’s first start as a professional so his performance will get better with time. He also won’t be facing someone as dominant as Aaron Donald this week. However, the other linemen don’t have an excuse for their poor performances. This week they’ll have to contain Saints outside linebacker and pass rush specialist Junior Galette. This will be no easy task and if the offensive line for the 49ers pass protects like they did last week, expect the same kind of results. Colin Kaepernick has all the weapons he needs on offense, but he can’t use them properly if he doesn’t have time to throw the football.
49ers Need Frank Gore To Have His Best Game of the Season
The 49ers have gotten away from what their identity has been the past few years; running the ball with Frank Gore. Last week Gore had 14 carries for 49 yards, the game before that he had nine carries for 20 yards, and the week before that 16 carries for 38 yards. As mentioned before, this offense has a lot of weapons but it is running most efficiently when Gore is getting enough carries and having success. This is what the 49ers need to get back to against the Saints. If they can control the line of scrimmage and give Gore holes to run through, it’ll set everything up through the air and allow Kaepernick to have a solid game as well. Another perk to establishing the run game is that it keeps the ball out of Brees’ hands and Graham’s hands.
Just like their most recent matchups against each other, this game will most likely end the same way and come down to the last few minutes. When all is said and done I think the 49ers walk away from this one with the win. Desperation is something teams can’t gameplan for and is really hard to combat. The 49ers are desperate at this point and know that if they lose this game it could very well knock them out of the playoffs. I think the 49ers win by a touchdown.