SANTA CLARA — The division-leading Arizona Cardinals are sitting back and watching during their bye week.
The 49ers cannot afford another stumble against an NFC West team as they prepare for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, especially after they let big leads get away earlier in the season in losses to Arizona and the Los Angeles Rams.
This is a big one for the 49ers, who are looking to improve to 6-4 on the season and join the Cardinals atop the division standings.
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Also, the 49ers need to get some momentum going. They have yet to play anything resembling a complete game, and things do not get any easier from here. After Sunday’s game against Seattle, the 49ers hit the road for tough matchups against Green Bay and Buffalo.
Here are five players to watch as the 49ers look to extend their winning streak to three games:
CB Renardo Green
Rookie cornerback Renardo Green made the play of the game to save the 49ers’ Week 6 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers watched their 20-point second-half lead dwindle to six points. The Seahawks had the ball when Green undercut a DK Metcalf route to intercept a pass from Geno Smith. He returned it 20 yards to set up a quick 49ers touchdown.
Green is set to make his second NFL start on Sunday with Charvarius Ward out for another game as he mourns the death of his young daughter.
With a group of wide receivers featuring Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks are going to try to throw the ball around the field on Sunday. So Green should get tested early and often.
RB Christian McCaffrey
It was not really a surprise that the 49ers rode running back Christian McCaffrey in his season debut in Week 10.
McCaffrey played 56 of the 49ers’ 64 offensive snaps. He had 19 touches in the game (13 carries for 39 yards and six receptions for 68 yards).
McCaffrey faced a stacked box on 52.85 percent of his rushing attempts, according to Zebra Technologies’ on-field tracking. That was the highest share of any running back in Week 10.
The Seahawks will try to make it difficult on McCaffrey, but he could find success in the passing game as the 49ers look to exploit those matchups.
K Jake Moody
The 49ers rank 27th in the NFL in red-zone efficiency after leading the league with touchdowns on 68 percent of their trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
Through nine games, the 49ers have dropped off significantly. They are scoring touchdowns on fewer than 50 percent of their red-zone trips.
If that trend continues, it could be another busy day for kicker Jake Moody.
Moody missed field-goal attempts of 49, 50 and 44 yards against Tampa Bay. His last flub prompted Deebo Samuel to have some words, and a brief skirmish between Samuel and long-snapper Taybor Pepper ensued.
Moody, a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is not going anywhere. But he can certainly make life a lot easier on himself if he can get back to kicking the ball between the uprights.
QB Brock Purdy
The 49ers have a 5-0 record against the Seahawks since Brock Purdy took over as the starting quarterback late in the 2022 season.
“I think we've had some success going against them,” Purdy said, “but it's always been a dogfight and it's never just been given to us or anything, and we know that.”
Purdy threw for 255 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the 49ers’ 36-24 victory over Seattle in Week 6. He did a good job of solving Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald’s defense. Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator last year, and his team picked off Purdy four times.
One added complication in Sunday’s game could be the weather. A 20-percent chance of rain is in the forecast for Santa Clara on game day.
CB Deommodore Lenoir
The 49ers rewarded cornerback Deommdore Lenoir with a five-year, $88.8 million extension that includes $15.4 million fully guaranteed.
That deal could end up looking like a bargain for the 49ers, considering how well Lenoir has been playing.
Opposing quarterbacks have a lowly 65.0 passer rating when targeting Lenoir this season. He has yielded 35 receptions on 56 targets for 346 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns allowed.
Geno Smith is averaging a league-high 284 yards passing per game, and he has outstanding wide receivers who will challenge any defensive backfield.
Now that Lenoir has been paid, the pressure gets ratcheted up to continue to prove he deserves it.