Tuesday, November 26, 2013

5 Burning Questions Answered



The 49ers did what they needed to do on Monday night, defeating Washington 27-6.  The defense did what it has done for the last 8 weeks by shutting down the Washington offense, limiting them to 190 total yards.  On the offensive side of the ball they were able to make some big plays through the passing game and get things working a bit.  With this win the 49ers took over the lead for most wins in the history of Monday Night Football.

Let's take a look at the answers to the 5 burning questions that I asked yesterday.

1)  Can the 49ers get the running game going again? - Yes

"Over the last 2 weeks, both losses, the 49ers have run the ball on 37% of its snaps.  If the 49ers are going to win they must get that number to a minimum of 45-50%."

The 49ers got back to their balanced attack last night.  They ran 59 offensive plays, 31 passes (53%) and 28 runs (47%).

2)  Can the 49ers defense contain Alfred Morris? -  Yes

"Over the last three games Morris has averaged 24.3 carries and 117.67 yards per game.  If he is able to reach those numbers tonight it will be tough sledding for the 49ers."

The 49ers run defense held Morris to 52 yards on 14 carries.  His 3.7 yards per carry average is his lowest of any game this season.

3)  Can Colin Kaepernick rekindle his Monday Night Magic? - Yes 

"It has been exactly a year and a week to the day since Kaepernick made his first career start on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears.  On that night Kaepernick completed 16 of 23 passes for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns. So far in 2013 Kaepernick has bettered those numbers only two times."

Kaepernick finished the night 15-24 for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns in a performance that was very similar to the one he had against the Bears.  He was able to hit some big shots down the field to Vernon Davis, Anquan Boldin and Vance McDonald and put together his third best passing game of the season.

4)  What effect will the Tarell Brown injury have on the 49ers secondary? - None on this night.

The 49ers secondary played very well by combining with a solid pass rush to limit Washington to only 127 yards passing and no passes longer than 18 yards.

5)  Turn back the clock to 1988? -  It's a start...

"The 1988 49ers entered their week 12 matchup with a 6-5 record coming off back to back losses, the second being a dismal offensive effort in which they could only muster 3 points and 219 yards.  It was the second time that season in which the offense had looked over matched, including a 10-9 loss a few weeks earlier to the Chicago Bears.

For week 12 the 49ers hosted the defending Super Bowl Champion Washington Redskins.  The 49ers blitzed Washington, taking a 23-7 lead into the half on the strength of a Montana touchdown pass to Brent Jones, a Tom Rathman TD run, and John Taylor's incredible punt return for a touchdown.  That win was the catalyst to a 4 game win streak that set the 49ers up for a post season run that would include avenging that loss to Chicago and culminate in the teams third Super Bowl title."

Prediction Time:

49ers 19 Washington 13

3 comments:

  1. The receivers padded Kaepernick's stat line with some tough catches, but overall it's a big improvement albeit against a suspect defense. Thanks for what you do here, love this blog.

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    1. Thank you for the kind words Ken. A win is always a great thing.

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  2. When you see all those defenders up on the line like that in place to stuff a run, why isn't an audible called to change the play to a pass? Is that not allowed at certain times? It seems when I see that sort of defense the 49ers rarely get anywhere running. Sent my son a link to your blog.

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