New Orleans Saints: Three keys to overcome the San Francisco 49ers
By Jason Reed
1. The offensive line holding up against Nick Bosa and the defensive line
The reason why the San Francisco 49ers have been so good this season is because of a defense that has been beating teams on third down and has been able to pressure the quarterback by sending four or five rushers.
We saw this on Sunday in the losing effort to the Ravens. The 49ers’ defense did a great job at limiting Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense, which heading into this game, looked unstoppable as they were rolling over some of the best teams in the league.
Nick Bosa is the team’s best pass-rusher and he is going to be coming from the left side of the line. However, if Terron Armstead is still out, with Andrus Peat being out as well, I would not be surprised to see the 49ers line up their most talented pass-rush against a second-string left side of the Saints’ offensive line.
For the most part, the Saints’ offensive line has held up and has been one of the best in the entire league. However, when the team has lost the offensive line has been one of the culprits, with Drew Brees being pressured often in both losses.
If the Saints cannot limit that pressure that has made the 49ers so great, especially on third down, they are going to be in for a long day as it will not give Brees time for the play to develop downfield.