Kyle Shanahan needs a bottle of white-out, so that he can erase No. 15 from his play sheet this week.
asserted
he → need → sheet
Maybe Mike Evans is hurt.
asserted
Evans → hurt → ?
Maybe it’s not as bad as he let on leaving the field last week.
asserted
he → ’ → field
For their part, the 49ers seemed confident that Evans’ rib injury wasn’t a major concern, even though it kept the 33-year-old out of practice this week and they signed Brandin Cooks to the active roster.
asserted
they → seem → roster
It’s not like Brock Purdy is itching to cross off yet another receiver from his list of potential targets.
asserted
Purdy → ’ → targets
Either way, the 49ers’ misfortune could just end up working in their favor against the Broncos defense.
uncertain
misfortune → end → defense
And it doesn’t have to involve Evans as anything more than a decoy.
asserted
it → have → decoy
Denver boasts arguably the top cover corner in the NFL.
asserted
Denver → boast → NFL
But that’s not much use if there’s nobody worth covering.
asserted
that → ’ → ?
If Evans plays, as anticipated, expect Patrick Surtain II to be glued to him all game.
asserted
II → play → him
And if he doesn’t?
asserted
he → do → ?
Are the Broncos going to get the most out of his talents shutting down Jordan Watkins?
asserted
Broncos → go → Watkins
Surtain, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, has made his name — and four Pro Bowls — on shutting down any given opponent’s top receiver.
asserted
Surtain → make → receiver
He doesn’t often mess around with tight ends or running backs, where Shanahan possesses his most dangerous weapons.
asserted
Shanahan → mess → weapons
The Denver defense under coordinator Vance Joseph is far from a one-man show, but when it comes to neutralizing its best player, the 49ers may be uniquely well-positioned.
uncertain
49ers → come → player
Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle have been slowly revving into gear week by week and are primed to kick it up a notch as the Niners do their best to exploit the weak points in a unit that ranked in the top-three in yards and points allowed last season.
asserted
that → rev → yards
“Vance is one of the toughest guys just because they can do anything front-wise, coverage-wise, pressure-wise,” Shanahan said.
asserted
Shanahan → do → anything
“And then when you mix in their corners, their safeties, how they are with their pass rush, whether they come with four or five and their linebackers, it’s not a surprise they were one of the best defenses in the league last year.
asserted
they → mix → league
Surtain is likely to be playing with a chip on his shoulder, even after the Broncos came back to beat the Rams last week.
asserted
Broncos → play → Rams
His assignment was to shadow Davante Adams, but the presence of the three-time All-Pro didn’t scare Matthew Stafford from targeting his top receiver.
asserted
presence → shadow → receiver
Stafford threw Adams’ way 10 times and completed five passes for 77 yards.
asserted
Stafford → throw → yards
The 37.6 grade Surtain got from Pro Football Focus was the second-lowest of his career and lowest since 2022.
asserted
Surtain → get → 2022
But even after losing their top four receivers, the 49ers can at least still lean on McCaffrey and Kittle.
asserted
49ers → lose → McCaffrey
“It’s gonna be another challenge,” Surtain told reporters this week.
asserted
Surtain → go → reporters
“It’s the same system that we’ve been facing these past two weeks – that same Shanahan/McVay system – so we’ve just got to be ready to understand how they’re going to try to attack us.”
asserted
they → ’ → us
Purdy has arguably been the best quarterback in the NFL through three weeks, but he has his work cut out for him on a number of fronts against Vance Joseph’s defense.
asserted
work → have → defense
He will at least have the advantage of having faced off against the Broncos’ ballhawking safety in practice for three seasons, up until Hufunga left for Denver in 2024.
asserted
Hufunga → have → 2024
Coach Kyle Shanahan said he has “nothing but love for Huff” and was “real excited” to watch him pick off Matthew Stafford twice last week, including a 66-yarder that he took to the house to help them pull off a 30-26 comeback win.
asserted
them → say → win
Purdy was picked off at the fourth-highest rate in the league last season (3.5%), but he’s more than cut that in half with just one in 83 attempts this year (1.2%).
asserted
he → pick → attempts
Nevertheless, Shanahan said, “we’ve got our work cut out to make sure that they don’t happen this week.”
asserted
they → say → ?
The score: 49ers 31, Broncos 28
Purdy and the 49ers have provided no reason to pick against them yet this season.
asserted
Purdy → provide → them
They’ve outscored their opponents by 48 points through three weeks, the widest margin in the league.
asserted
They → outscore → league
Injuries are beginning to pile up, and if the Niners don’t pull this one out the absence of Nick Bosa is sure to loom large, but they haven’t caught up to them yet.
asserted
they → begin → them
That’s another story.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
The defensive line should be in marginally better shape than it was last week, but lining them up for 81 snaps for a second week in a row is no winning formula.
asserted
lining → line → row
That means the 49ers need to do a better job of getting off the field.
asserted
49ers → mean → field
Opponents have averaged 7.1 plays per drive against the Niners, tied for the most in the NFL, and only two defenses (Dallas, Tennessee) have been on the field longer on average (3:24).
asserted
defenses → average → field
The ball he punched out in Week 1 amounted to one of only two turnovers forced so far by San Francisco’s defense.
asserted
he → punch → defense
They should have ample opportunities against Bo Nix, who has thrown an interception in all three games to start the season and fumbled three times in Week 1.
2.
asserted
who → have → 2
It’s already been evident how much the 49ers missed Dre Greenlaw in his one-year sabbatical in the Rocky Mountains, especially his linebacking partner Warner.
asserted
49ers → miss → Mountains
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
