49ers Three Things to Watch for in Week Eight

Week Eight can be considered a make-or-break time for the San Francisco 49ers as they limp their way into the Week Nine Bye. They are sitting at 3-4, bottom of the tight NFC West, and will be facing a familiar opponent in the 3-3 Dallas Cowboys, who are coming off a Bye Week. Nothing seems to be going right for the Niners so far this season, but a win against the Cowboys in primetime could be huge for their confidence moving forward. Get through this week and they’ll be sitting at .500 on the season, with a Bye week to heal up and continue to get mentally right after a grueling beginning to the season. Here are the top three things to pay attention to this week for the San Francisco 49ers.

1. Next Man Up

The injury bug has absolutely ransacked the 49ers this year. Star running back Christian McCaffrey has been on injured reserve all year and there is still no clear timetable for his return. Backup running back Jordan Mason has been doing fantastic, but he’s no CMC. Star linebacker Dre Greenlaw ruptured his Achilles in last year’s Super Bowl and also has not made an appearance this season. With Fred Warner’s linebacking still sidelined, it’s been a plug-and-play mentality as a replacement, with no one truly solidifying themselves as “the guy”. Now, star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season with a torn ACL. The rest of the league will have zero remorse for the Niners’ injury woes and the season will continue to roll on with games to play and win. That means it really has to be a next-man-up mentality for the team. It’ll be a chance for a lot of these guys to step up and show they have what it takes to be a star in this league. Rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has a chance to show why he was a first-round pick in this year’s draft, after missing the start of the season due to being shot prior to the season’s start. Mason has been a workhorse at running back, but his backups Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. can step up and give Mason the rest he needs from a heavier-than-usual workload. Let’s see if coach Kyle Shanahan can put the pieces together and get these guys to produce in Week Eight, prior to next week’s bye.

2. Brock Gets Right

For the most part, this season, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has been fantastic. Last week against the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs was not one of those games. Purdy finished the game throwing 17/31 for 212 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions. Although he did rush for 27 yards and two touchdowns, it was nowhere near the kind of game we’re used to seeing from him, especially this year. He nearly doubled his interception total and the 212 yards was his lowest of the season. The game against the Chiefs could be chalked up to a few things. A great Chiefs defense constantly got in Purdy’s face, all game long, causing him to scramble and make errant throws. He also had an extremely depleted receiving core. Deebo Samuel left after a few snaps due to illness. Brandon Aiyuk left the game early with an ACL tear. His go-to guy Jauan Jennings was out for the game with a hip injury. Purdy had to rely on tight end George Kittle and a couple of rookie wide receivers in Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing. The lack of proven receivers out there allowed the Chiefs to stack the box even more against the run and force Purdy to trust unproven players. With a week of practicing with the rookies and likely having Samuel back should help Purdy bounce back against a Cowboys defense that has been sub-par in pass defense.

3. Kyle Shanahan Play Calling

Coach Kyle Shanahan has been under a little bit of pressure to start the season, with some of his play-calling. The offensive production isn’t exactly what we expected this year. Granted, we also didn’t expect the team to be missing a star player in CMC, and having random players out due to injury week to week. Their red zone offense has been horrible, constantly settling for field goals, and their yards after-catch production is way down. It may be that teams have finally adjusted to the Shanahan system, and, if that’s the case, Shanahan has to be a coach and adjust to that. He’s been asking Purdy to do a lot with his legs and throwing downfield, but maybe he needs to start scheming up the short, explosive routes to Samuel and Kittle again. Don’t allow defenses to stack boxes against you which causes Purdy to rush throws or scramble and run. The Cowboys’ defense has not been as good this year as they have been in the past, and his offense went crazy on them last year with three touchdowns from George Kittle. Hopefully, coach Shanahan can find his mojo against them and right the ship.