Defense and Special Teams is Key to a 49ers Victory Against Washington
This is it for the San Francisco 49ers.
Defeat the Washington Football Team and they will still be alive for the playoffs. Lose to them and the 49ers might as well start prepping for the NFL draft.
Achieving victory against Washington will not be easy. Their defense is superb on every level and will have no issues going against a backup quarterback in Nick Mullens. Not to mention that they are surely licking their chops to go against the right side of the 49ers' offensive line.
Scoring points is going to be challenging for the 49ers, but not impossible. They will certainly need help from their defense and special teams in that department,
That is why the key to a 49ers victory against Washington lies with the defense and special teams.
These two units have to contribute to points on the scoreboard. It is asking a lot of them, but this is what is necessary to assure victory for the 49ers. Washington's offense should not be overlooked either. Alex Smith has looked amazing since being named the starter. It is not so much that he is performing at an elite level. It is the fact that he is making some impact plays that keep his team alive. The fact that they won against the Steelers is proof that their offense is not to be trifled with.
The 49ers have to come out guns blazing.
Creating turnovers needs to be heavily emphasized because the offense will need the extra possessions. This is where players like Fred Warner, Jimmie Ward, and Richard Sherman have to come through. They have to get the ball and think to score with it, or at least put the offense well within scoring position.
Washington doesn't give up easy points on their end and it'll be easy for them to dictate what the 49ers do on offense. They're just going to overload the box and force Mullens to throw like every defense has done so far. I wouldn't count on the 49ers putting points outside of their opening series.
Special teams will need to step up as well. Brandon Aiyuk saw his first punt return last week. That needs to happen again for this game. The 49ers just need a spark anywhere. They cannot afford to be careful. This game is essentially it for them if they can't win.
Defense and special teams have to be on point because if they are a shell of themselves, the season will be over for the 49ers.
