The 49ers faced their toughest test of the season last week in Los Angles and passed with flying colors. They’re now sitting at 5-0 with the best record in the NFC. This week brings a matchup against Washington, which sits at 1-5 and is coming off their lone win of the season. However, this game could be tricky for the 49ers with them traveling east to play in the 10 AM Pacific Time time slot.
San Francisco is 1-0 this season playing the morning game. They cruised to a win in Week 2 at Cincinnati.
Here are the three key matchups that could decide the Week 7 meeting:
Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida vs. Cole Holcomb and Jon Bostic
The 49ers offense has operated through heavy use of the run game, and the constant production from both Coleman and Breida is the biggest reason why.
The duo of running backs are both averaging above four yards per carry with Coleman at 4.1 and Breida at a whopping 5.8. Their first game back together in Week 5 after Coleman missed two games due to injury, they combined for 211 yards and kept the offense moving. That wasn’t the case last week as Coleman and Breida combined for just 81 yards and the offense struggled to move the ball.
They face a tough duo of linebackers with the rookie Holcomb and the veteran Bostic. Washington’s defense has struggled against the run, allowing 134 yards per game, the fifth-most in the league. But both Holcomb and Bostic have been tackling machines, combining for 87 tackles through Washington’s first six games.
The 49ers run game couldn’t get going in Los Angeles and that could be due to missing three key blockers due to injury. Sunday is a chance for them to get right against a defense that has a hard time against the run, but big outings from Holcomb and Bostic near the line of scrimmage could derail the 49ers’ offense for the second straight week.
Emmanuel Moseley vs. Terry McLaurin
The 49ers secondary has been good this season, even with starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon missing the last two weeks due to a foot injury. A big reason for that is Moseley’s play replacing Witherspoon. The second-year cornerback more than held his own the last two weeks. While he give up a high reception rate with six catches allowed on nine targets, Moseley has done well preventing big plays, allowing only 45 yards on those six receptions.
Moseley has another tough test Sunday against Washington’s explosive rookie Terry McLaurin. He’s stepped into the No. 1 receiver role quite well since gettinig drafted in the third round by Washington out of Ohio State. He’s tied with running back Chris Thompson for the team-lead in targets with 38, and he has 23 receptions despite missing Week 4. He’s also averaging 17.7 yards per receptions and leads Washington with five receiving touchdowns.
McLaurin is the biggest threat in the passing game for Washington’s offense. Moseley has played well since replacing Witherspoon in the secondary. This matchup could be the key to how well Washington moves the ball Sunday.
George Kittle vs. Landon Collins
Kittle had his best game of the season last week in Los Angeles when he had 103 yards on eight receptions. The tight end has been Jimmy Garoppolo’s favorite receiver this season, comfortably leading the team with 37 targets. Kittle is also the 49ers only pass catcher with more than 200 receiving yards with 338.
What makes Kittle so good is his athleticism that allows him to stay effective in all three levels of the passing game. Not a lot of tight ends are flat-out beating opposing team’s safeties. Sunday might be a tougher matchup for Kittle when he faces one of the better safeties in the league in Landon Collins. The last time Kittle faced Collins was Week 10 last season when the safety was a member of the New York Giants. Kittle had nine receptions on 10 targets for 83 yards, leading the team in each of those categories. The important note from that stat line though is that Kittle had just four catches for 17 yards in the second half.
Collins was just named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Dolphins in Week 6. While the two may not frequently line up against one another, Collins is one of the best at his position, so this matchup vs. Kittle is must-watch.
