The San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers face off on Sunday Night Football. This should be a competitive game that could very well come down to the final possession, which means the 49ers need to exploit every one of the Packers weaknesses. Let's breakdown two major x-factors for the 49ers that can lead them to victory.
1. 49ers running game
The 49ers have used a running back by committee approach and they have had a lot of success averaging 149 yards per game which is good enough for second in the country.
The Packers defense has struggled to stop the run giving up 110.5 yards per game which is 20th in the league. The offense needs to use a balanced attack, but if the run game can get going early, that will take a lot of pressure off on Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo is a solid quarterback, but attacking the Packers with the run game first is going to be key for the 49ers.
The 49ers struggled to run against the Arizona Cardinals in their last game and that led to some offensive struggles for most of the game.
The offense is going to need to score points to win this game and controlling the game with the run game is a must.
2. 49ers pass rush
The 49ers pass rush is arguably the best in football, and they have wreaked havoc on almost all of the offensive lines they have gone against this year. The 49ers currently have 39 sacks which tie them with the Carolina Panthers for the NFL lead in sacks.
Joey Bosa has 8.5 sacks so far this season, and the Packers are going to have a hard time keeping him out of the backfield.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers knows it's going to be something tough the team is going to have to deal with.
“Pass rush. It’s definitely pass rush,” Rodgers said via the Sacramento Bee.
“When you can add Dee Ford through free agency or a trade, and then draft Nick Bosa, and you already got two 6-7 guys (DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead) who are really good players, you would expect the efficiency of the defense and the turnovers to go up and they obviously have.”
If the pass rush makes Rodgers uncomfortable, the 49ers are going to have a really good chance to come away with a win.
If these two x-factors aren't met, the 49ers might lose their second game in the last month.
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