49ers news: 3 keys to a Niners win over Packers

The San Francisco 49ers are ready to take on the fight Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon and are looking for a spark in a big way as they sit at 5-5 on the season.

The 49ers are coming off a 20-17 loss to Seattle Seahawks where they struggled to capitalize on opportunities offensively and had a late meltdown defensively, losing a key divisional game.

Now they face a Green Bay team that is off to a good 7-3 start to the year, but has played in a string of one-score games thus far.

San Francisco comes into this game behind a trio of stars as quarterback Brock Purdy, defensive end Nick Bosa and cornerback Charvarius Ward are all out against the Packers.

What is the formula for success for the 49ers against Green Bay on Sunday?

Run Jordan Mason

With Brock Purdy out, the logical solution would be a heavy dose of Christian McCaffrey in the run. But the star running back will face a number of loaded boxes with Green Bay looking to defend the run, which is why physicality could very well be a big factor on Sunday in colder weather.

The Packers are in the middle of the pack when it comes to defending the run, allowing just under 120 rushing yards per game. 4.4 yards per game carry.

So there’s an opportunity for success there, but it feels like the 49ers will need to install more Jordan Mason in this one after he combined for just three touches over the last two games.

Mason has been efficient with his touches on the field, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. carry this season. While the 49ers obviously get a different element of their offense when Christian McCaffrey is on the field, the passing game should be hit with Brandon Allen under center, putting more emphasis on the ground game.

We wrote earlier this week about how Deebo Samuel rushes have become largely ineffective, be it because of the spread itself or the blocking issues on those plays. Instead, get Mason the ball more, which will help the offense move the chains between the 20s.

Blitz Jordan love

With the 49ers missing Nick Bosa this weekend, they will need to find different ways for the defense to generate pressure. And that means that you have to move away from what they have done this year, and that they become more and more.

San Francisco is among the bottom when it comes to blitz rate, having primarily looked to rush four and drop seven, relying on Bosa to get to the quarterbacks and their defensive backs to keep it down in the secondary.

Well, the pass rush has been there at times, but not nearly with the consistency the 49ers had hoped, and that will certainly change on Sunday.

Jordan Love was one of the better quarterbacks against the blitz a season ago, completing 65 percent of his passes in those situations while posting a 10:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

This year? Love has struggled while under pressure and when facing blitzes, completing just 55.6 percent of his passes while throwing four touchdowns to six interceptions on the season. In addition, his turnover rate, already high this season, skyrockets to 4.8 percent when blown.

San Francisco needs to change things up and blitz more on Sunday, especially with Bosa out.

Red Zone

One thing that could keep this game closer than expected is the red zone play from both teams.

San Francisco’s struggles inside their opponent’s 20 yard line have been well documented. They sit 26th in the NFL with a 48.78 touchdown percentage in the red zone after leading the league at 68 percent last year.

You know who’s worse than them? The Green Bay Packers, who have converted touchdowns on just 48.72 percent of their red zone drives.

Both teams get to the red zone at a high rate, thanks to some solid offenses, but they haven’t been able to execute well enough, leading to a number of one-score games on both sides.

Defensively, neither team is very good at defending the red zone. Green Bay is allowing opponents to score touchdowns on 58.8 percent of their drives (19th in the NFL), while San Francisco is allowing touchdowns on 62.5 percent of their drives (23rd in the NFL).

So something has to give on Sunday. And that could very well decide the winner.