San Francisco 49ers vs. Tennessee Titans: Things to Watch For

Oct 13, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) drops back for a pass against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 32-20. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY SportsThis Sunday, the 49ers head down to Tennessee to take on the Titans. With both teams still very much alive in the race for their divisions, this game is extremely important for both teams. Neither teams can afford to lose and create a bigger disparity between themselves and the first place teams in their divisions.

The 49ers are coming off a physical win against the Arizona Cardinals, and the Titans were handed a loss by the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers are hoping to give the Titans their second loss to a NFC West team in two weeks. Both teams are talented and capable of doing damage, and there are a lot match-ups and story lines to watch for.

The 49ers’ Passing Game

Vernon Davis had a career game last Sunday against the Cardinals. The 49ers are hoping that he can repeat his success this week against the Titans. The 49ers have been struggling mightily through the first six weeks to get anything going in the air. And the Titans secondary are no slouches either, so the 49ers need all their receivers to step up. The running game has been grinding the 49ers to victory lately, but the 49ers absolutely need to get something going through the air. Hopefully for the 49ers, Baldwin, Williams, McDonald, or Moore can step up when the defense is focusing on Boldin and Davis.

Chris Johnson

Although Jake Locker hasn’t been completely ruled out on Sunday, many people believe that he will sit out the game to try and get to 100%. That leaves Ryan Fitzpatrick at the leader of the offense. If that is the case, then expect a lot of Chris Johnson. He might be struggling right now, but you never want to sleep on him. He has big play ability every single time he touches the ball. He is always a threat, and the 49ers must thoroughly prepare for him. Even if Locker does play, the Titans will most likely lean on Johnson to try and take the pressure off of him.

The Defenses

Both these teams have very stout defenses. They both also have stud running backs. The 49ers with Frank Gore and the Titans with Chris Johnson. Gore is more of a ground and pound type running back that just wears defenses down. Johnson on the other hand, is an explosive back that can take it to the house on every play. The 49ers and the Titans both have stout defenses that are going to have to battle to stop the other side’s run game. While the 49ers really only have two big threats in the passing gamein Davis and Boldin, they are still very hard to stop. Boldin catches everything around him and Davis can outrun most of the defense. On the other side, the Titans have a very underrated receiving corps. With Wright, Washington, Britt, and Walker, the Titans receivers have the ability to take over the game. The 49ers’ defense is going to have their hands full with stopping both Johnson and the receiving corps.