49ers at Washington: 3 keys to remaining undefeated on the season
San Francisco will need to shut down Peterson
SANTA CLARA – For the fourth time in six games, the 49ers are on the road. It seemed like a brutal opening act when the schedule was unveiled in April, especially knowing their recent road history.
“I know we didn’t win a single road game last year, preseason or regular season, so those plane rides were not very fun,” tight end George Kittle recalled.
Here are three ways the 49ers again can fly home through the friendly skies:
1. Show up, humbly Confidence should be high among any undefeated team. There hasn’t been any signs of overconfidence this past week, however. No rolling of eyes or sly grins when Washington’s potential is broached. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh reminded his players to stay humble.
“For the most part, everyone in that room has seen the worst of the worst that this organization has had over the last couple of years,” Saleh said. “They have been told they’re not good. They have been told that they shouldn’t be here. They have been told that they should all be cut. We have all been told that we should be fired.” 2. Stop the run, defensively
Bill Callahan won his debut as Washington’s interim coach Sunday at Miami by predictably committing to a run-heavy approach. The same strategy is expected.
Adrian Peterson emerged from Jay Gruden’s cobwebs and rushed for 118 yards (23 carries) as Washington avoided staying winless, by beating winless Miami.
“Our No. 1 thing is to stop the run,” Buckner said. “(Callahan’s) whole thing is to establish the run, they did it last game it was effective. If you want to affect (quarterback) Case Keenum, you’ve got to stop the run first.” 3. Keep on running,
offensively Matt Breida is averaging only 13 carries per game, and perhaps it’s time to ramp that up rather than split so much time with Tevin Coleman.
Breida is averaging 5.8 yards per carry this season, and while that’s obviously boosted by an 83-yard touchdown run to stun Cleveland, it’s not far off his 5.12 career average. In fact, the only 49ers with better rushing averages are Colin Kaepernick (6.13 ypc.) and Steve Young (5.89 ypc), with a minimum 300 carries.
Of course, it’s fine if Breida and Coleman continue to share the workload as long as the 49ers’ keep moving the chains and owning the time of possession.