49ers Three Things to Watch for in Week 11
The San Francisco 49ers will be going into Week 11 with a 5-4 record and coming off a three-point win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10. They will be hosting division rivals, the 4-5 Seattle Seahawks, at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers won the Week Six Thursday Night Football matchup 36-24. A win this week will have them at 6-4, tied with the Arizona Cardinals atop the division, who they’ll be playing in a potentially crucial game with playoff implications in Week 18. The 49ers have beaten the Seahawks in their last six meetings.
1. 49ers Find Their Stride
While the 49ers have shown flashes of brilliance on offense and defense this season, the level of consistency and dominance we’ve grown accustomed to over the years just hasn’t been there week-to-week. Even in last week’s game against the Bucs, they would be rolling on offense and picking up chunk yards on the ground and through the air, only to have to settle for field goals. The final score might have looked better if they hadn't missed three of those field goals, but we'll get to the 49ers' special teams shortly. With injuries plaguing their season all year and players missing random games, their roster makeup has been inconsistent all year, and it’d be hard for any team to get into a rhythm like that. Unless there’s a surprise injury or illness, such as wide receiver Deebo Samuel in Week Seven, the 49ers should be rolling with a similar roster makeup as in Week 10. This would certainly help them start finding their stride and allow them to make a strong push towards the playoffs. Running back Christian McCaffrey will only continue to improve with more live game repetitions. The same goes for rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. Both players will be crucial for the rest of the season. CMC makes the offense reach a different level, and Pearsall will try to make up for some of the work left behind by wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s season-ending injury. The 49ers will have an extremely tough road trip starting in Week 12 against the Green Bay Packers and then a Week 13 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, so a big win against the Seahawks at home would be huge for momentum and their psyche.
2. Brock Purdy Adds His Name to MVP Talks
Even if the team record doesn’t reflect it, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has been fantastic this year, and if they had a better record, he’d probably be in MVP conversations already. A big win and another big game against the Seahawks could put his name into those conversations as they were last season. He’s currently second in passing yards per game, top 10 in quarterback rating, second in yards per passing attempt, and has 12 passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. Even in his three-interception performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, where he lost his top two receivers early in the game, he threw for 212 yards and rushed for 27 yards and two touchdowns. That was a game where MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes threw for 154 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, 39 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown. The big difference is one quarterback won, and the other lost. As previously stated, a win this week could get the team rolling and used to winning again, which would certainly elevate Purdy into those MVP conversations.
3. Struggling Special Teams
The 49ers' offense and defense both rank in the top five in the league; the only other team to rank in the top five in both categories is the Detroit Lions. The 49ers, however, rank in the bottom five in special teams. Missed field goals, missed tackles on kickoffs and punts, muffed returns, their special teams unit has just been bad. Their second-year kicker, Jake Moody, missed three field goals in the game against the Bucs before finally making the game-winner. Punt returner Jacob Cowing muffed a punt that was recovered by Tampa Bay, which led to a game-tying touchdown for the Buccaneers. The coaching staff and special team players really need to figure things out, especially if they want to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl. Even in last year’s Super Bowl, Moody had an extra point blocked. They also muffed a punt that allowed the Chiefs to score a go-ahead touchdown, which ultimately led to Kansas City winning the Super Bowl in overtime. Things seemingly boiled over last week when Deebo voiced his frustrations with Moody on the sidelines, and when long snapper Taybor Pepper went to defend the kicker, Deebo pushed his face away, and the two had to be separated in a now-viral moment. There’s no clear-cut answer on how to fix things with the special teams unit, but it makes things a lot harder on the 49ers on both sides of the ball if that unit can’t be trusted.
