The 49ers defense pitched their first shut out since 2016 when they defeated Washington 9-0 in Week 7. Sunday, they take on an offense that features Christian McCaffrey, who’s one of the best offensive weapons in the league. They will also face a young quarterback in Kyle Allen, who is 4-0 this season and hasn’t thrown an interception, but he’s struggled with fumbles.
The 49ers’ front seven will be important to slowing McCaffrey and putting pressure on Allen to win it for Carolina. Here are the six players to watch on the 49ers’ defense:
DL Nick Bosa
We know about Bosa’s ability to get after the quarterback. He had another sack last week against Washington despite quarterback Case Keenum throwing just 12 times. However, he showed a run-stopping prowess that he hadn’t gotten to show yet. In Week 7, Bosa finished with a season-high four tackles for loss. The 49ers will face MVP candidate Christian McCaffrey and will need all hands on deck, playing at a high level to stop the run game.
DL Dee Ford
Even with McCaffrey leading the offense, the 49ers face undefeated quarterback Kyle Allen. Allen has made waves since taking over under center for an injured Cam Newton. He has seven touchdowns and zero interceptions with a 106.6 passer rating in four starts. Where Allen does struggle is holding on to the football. The second-year quarterback has six fumbles in his four starts. That’s where Ford comes in. Ford leads the 49ers with 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Ford getting to Allen will be imperative to forcing the quarterback to make mistakes and adding to that fumble total.
DL Arik Armstead
It’s not even halfway through the season and Armstead is already having a career year. With his sack last week, Armstead set a new career-high with 3.5 for the season. He’s also one off his career-high in tackles for loss. Armstead has played well against both the pass and run, and will need to continue his strong play Sunday against a multifaceted Panthers offense.
LB Kwon Alexander
Alexander had the biggest play of the game against Washington when he forced an Adrian Peterson fumble that was recovered by the 49ers. He finished the game with five total tackles and the forced fumble. Alexander has been huge in stopping the run, but he’ll need to be good in coverage Sunday as well going against McCaffrey.
DL DeForest Buckner
Buckner has been relatively quiet this season on a defensive line that has been the league’s best. Despite getting double teams and the interior offensive line’s attention, Buckner has three sacks and 27 tackles already. Big-time statistical output hasn’t been necessary with the added production on the line. He will line up against Greg Van Roten who has struggled at times this season, allowing a sack and notching a Pro Football Focus grade of 61.9.
LB Fred Warner
Warner finished last week with a career-low two tackles. The 49ers defense was only on the field for 48 plays, but it would have been nice to see Warner’s name called more, especially since he was around the ball on every play. A couple of bad angles by the second-year linebacker allowed Washington to get their run game going early. He will have the chance to redeem himself Sunday going up against maybe the best running back in the league.
