The Panthers come out west with a 3-0 record on the road and have their sights set on 1st place in their division with a win. Since their 2022 trade of CMC to the 49ers:
Touches: 1,000 (#5) Scrimmage Yards: 5,690 (#4) Touchdowns: 45 (#3)
They have no one that can cover him in the passing game.
The 49ers are 2nd All Time on Monday Night Football with 53 wins. This is a must win to stay in the playoff hunt. Shanahan will have the Panthers LB's chasing their tails. Curtis Robinson will be backed up by just activated Jalen Graham. Matt Gay is activated as well to fill in for Eddie Piñeiro. I like the 49ers to put the Panthers on the leash, 31-21. Go Niners!The 49ers INACTIVES for tonight’s game against the Panthers:
Jordan Watkins
Jordan James
Eddy Piñeiro
Tatum Bethune
Connor Colby
Kevin Givens
Robert Beal
Panthers have a hard time guarding TE's also. Kittle and CMC should have a field day. Playoffs begin now for a few teams to include the Niners.
ReplyDeleteVersus tight ends they are 29th in completion rate (78.4%) and 31st in passer rating (129.6).
DeleteKey is stopping their run game with solid run defense. Unlike many and this might be an unpopular opinion, but I think the defense is actually showing signs of improvement.
ReplyDeleteWe should win this if we don't turn over too much. Go Niners 34-28!
Bryce Young is averaging a Total QBR of 46.5 and 0.0 EPA per play in 2025. These numbers firmly place him in the bottom third of historical QB performance.
ReplyDeletePurdy QBR 69.9
KEYS TO A 9ER WIN OVER THE PANTHERS:
ReplyDelete* Defense: Neither the 9ers defense or the Panthers defense are very good. Both are among the league’s worst in blitz rate, pressure rate and success rate. Neither team can get to the quarterback, which,
IMO, should make the game a shootout.
* In the red zone, Carolina is a top 10 defense, giving up TD's on 52.9% of possessions. With Kittles' return the 9ers have been more efficient in the red zone and he should have a big game.
* 9er on offense:
The Panthers are missing both their starting LB's. Expect KS to exploit the middle with Kittle and CMC as a WR. WR Pearsall is healthy and should be in better game shape. I expect KS to call his number and not use him as a decoy against the Panthers.
*CMC, as the 9ers RB, will go against the Panthers 17th-ranked run defense that lacks consistency, giving up 7 yards p/carry to Buffalo as James Cook had over 200 yards.
* BP looked good coming off a solid passing game against Arizona, as he returned from turf toe. He should have similar success against Carolina, possibly taking more shots downfield since the Panthers don’t generate much of a pass rush.
* In the red zone, Carolina is a top 10 defense, giving up TD's on 52.9% of possessions. With Kittles' return the 9ers have been more efficient in the red zone and should have a big game.
* Carolina on offense:
Carolina QB, Bryce Young, threw for a career high 448 yards last week against Atlanta. More yards than in his prior 3 games combined. Which Young shows up against the 9ers, given the 9ers struggles to bring pressure, I expect Young to do well.
* A big reasons for Young’s breakout game was rookie WR Tetairoa McMillian, with career highs for targets and yards. He had 8 catches on 12 targets for 130 yards and 2 TD's. At 6-5, McMillian is difficult for 5-10 Deommodore Lenoir to cover. Young also had 36-yard TD to Carolina WR Xavier Legette.
* Saleh will, IMO, try to limit Carolina’s explosive passing game by playing a soft zone coverage to keep the play in front of the DB's and employ a bend don’t break philosophy on defense.
* RB Rico Dowdle leads the Panthers' rushing with 833 yards on the year. He ran for 130 yards against GB Packers 3 weeks ago, but has averaged under 3 yards per carry since. The 9er D will need to limit Dowdle and make Carolina one-dimensional.
* Carolina will copy the Rams McVay and use 3 TE sets. They have 3 capable tight ends led by Tommy Tremble and Ja’Tavion Sanders. Both have at least 25 catches on the year.
THE FINAL SCORE 9ER 30 to Carolina 24
I look for the 9ers to have more success on offense by riding Kittle and CMC to a win in a high-scoring game.