Carolina Panthers: Three 49ers to watch against the Panthers

The Carolina Panthers should watch these 49ers closely on Sunday.

After a much needed respite the Panthers have an opportunity to put their skills to the test with a game that is shaping up to be a prime time defensive shootout. After being held to zero touchdowns against the Redskins, the Forty-Niners remain undefeated through week eight of the regular season. This week they’ll welcome a formidable pass defense headlined by one of their former first-round picks.

Besides “The Enforcer” coming to town, the Panthers have a slew of defensive talent to put pressure on Jimmy G. all day. Vernon Butler’s performance raised some eyebrows the last time we saw him. Another performance like that will certainly be appreciated, especially on a week like this. A victory against the only undefeated team in the NFC will undoubtedly put the Panthers in the Super Bowl conversation for the next week or so, but the Forty-Niners won’t make it easy. There are three particular Forty-Niners that will play special roles in stopping the Panthers’ winning streak.

#30, Jeff Wilson

The bar is set pretty high for running backs in the league these days. Just ask Tarik Cohen. There’s Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliot, and, of course, Christian McCaffrey. These are the kinds of people that your local QB might refer to as the “go-to man” because he can reliably pick up about five yards on a good play. Matt Breida is that man for the 49ers. However, Jeff Wilson leads the team in a more important category: touchdowns.

Every other running back on the Forty-Niners’ roster has yet to break the three-hundred-yard threshold. Breida has four hundred and eleven. Just the same way that George Kittle is the main aerial target for Jimmy G., Breida is the main handoff target. However, Breida’s contributions lean more toward wearing down the clock than anything else. Jeff Wilson is responsible for four of the Forty-Niners eight rushing touchdowns. Breida has just one. This week will be a good test to see just how efficient the run defense is in the red zone.

#97, Nick Bosa

The Panthers were very lucky to get edge rusher Brian Burns in the 2019 draft. He currently sits right behind Mario Addison in number of sacks on the year with four and one half (Addison has six and one half). The Forty-Niners, on the other hand, got themselves a pretty good edge rusher of their own. Nick Bosa has four sacks on the year, and he’s fresh off of a seven-tackle, one-sack performance. This week he’ll be able to put his strength to the test against the reliable Taylor Moton.

The second greatest personnel situation that currently plagues the Panthers is the left tackle position. Fortunately, the problem they have is a good one as there is an abundance of line depth that has been performing reliably in spite of injuries. However, after this week there might be some cause for concern at the right tackle position. Bosa has made mincemeat out of every right tackle he’s gone toe-to-toe with, including an absolutely dominant performance against the Browns where he acquired two of his sacks along with three tackles. He’ll be rotating in with Dee Ford who leads the Forty-Niners with four and one half sacks, so Moton needs to do everything in his ability to keep them both quiet.

#11, Marquise Goodwin

All of the recent conversations regarding the Forty-Niners have been about the recently acquired Emmanuel Sanders. This makes sense considering that he was one of the Broncos’ best wide receivers. However, standing at five feet, eleven inches and weighing in at one hundred and eighty pounds he doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the table. He’s essentially another speedy receiver with a sure-handedness that will open up defenses and allow Garoppolo to take deep shots. However, the 49ers are confident that Sanders will be more than that. That being said, Marquise Goodwin serves as a good example of the minimum that the Forty-Niners expect from Sanders.

Marquise Goodwin is second on the team in total receiving yards with one hundred and eighty-one, but he’s the current leading wide receiver. He is two inches shorter than Sanders, but weighs just as much. The Forty-Niners will likely test the Panthers’ secondary with Goodwin and Sanders to see who makes bigger difference, but Goodwin is listed as the starter so he’ll likely get the first shot. James Bradberry is known for shutting down “number one wide receivers” with relative ease. The Panthers will need another good performance from him, a healthy Donte Jackson, and an energetic Tre Boston if they want to purge their ghost at Levi’s Stadium. We already know Eric Reid will be at his best.