NFC basement dwellers San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers go head-to-head
With only one win between them this season, the struggling San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers will be looking to pull out of the NFC cellar with a win as the two teams go head-to-head in Carolina on Sunday.
Previous meetings and recent games
The last meeting between these two teams was back in 2007 when the Panthers won 31-14.
So far this season neither team has been very impressive. The San Francisco 49ers, a team many thought was loaded with talent, were early season favourites to win the NFC West Division. They jumped out to a miserable 0-5 start before beating the Oakland
Raiders 17-9 last week.
The Panthers are coming off their bye week, but they haven't won a game all season. In fact, they haven't even come close, losing all but one game by 13 points or more. Inexplicably, the Chicago Bears, who managed only 247 yards of total offence, including
a paltry 29 yards passing, still managed to beat them. The Panthers are in the bottom half of the league running the ball and are dead last in passing.
How they match up
The 49ers offence has been underachieving so far this year with quarterback Alex Smith throwing more interceptions than any other with nine picks so far.
The Panthers have been trading quarterback duties between Jimmy Clausen and Matt Moore, but neither have been very effective. Moore is likely to get the start for the game against the 49ers.
The one consistent offensive weapon between these two teams is 49ers running back Frank Gore. Gore is eighth in the NFL in rushing yards and also leads the 49ers with 33 receptions.
The two teams match up pretty evenly on defence with each team ranked in the top half of the league.
What to expect
Even when the 49ers got off to an 0-5 start, no one was more certain that the team could turn things around than its head coach, Mike Singletary. Singletary continues to talk as though his team are on the up and up.
"It's important for all of us to understand where we are," Singletary said. "We've got to work our tails off, do everything that we can to stay focused and keep going in the right direction, because we still have a chance to do something very special here."
The Carolina Panthers say that they are looking for anything that might be able to spark their offence. Quarterback Matt Moore, who put up decent numbers after replacing Jake Delhomme last season, has even been reviewing year-old video to try and get back
to his old form.
"It's a good reminder of what you can do," Moore said. "It reminds me, when times are tough, that it can be done. You can do this, and you've made this throw, you've been in this situation, and here's the result."
Despite the 49ers finally getting a win last week, they are still miles away from proving they are contenders. But you don't need to be a contender to beat the Panthers, who almost seem to be l*****g their chops at having the prospect of a first overall
draft pick next off-season. Forty-niners will win an ugly affair 19-13.
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