Two teams connected to Super Bowl failure collide in a late game Sunday as Super Bowl losing Kyle Shanahan and his new team, the San Francisco 49ers, host Super Bowl losing quarterback Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
The Game: Carolina Panthers at San Francisco 49ers (+5)
The History
From 1995 to 2001, the Panthers and 49ers were both in the NFC West and met twice a season. Since the NFL Realigned in 2002, Carolina and San Francisco have met just six times and once int he playoffs. The 49ers won that game 23-10 in 2014 behind pariah quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The Panthers lead the all-time match up 12-8 and have won four of the last five games with the lone exception being the aforementioned playoff loss.
The longest San Francisco win streak over the Panthers was four games from September, 1997 to December, 1998 during the Steve Young era.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Cam Newton was held out of most of the preseason after off-season shoulder surgery so there’s a question about how much rust he’ll be bringing with him to Levi’s Stadium Sunday. While Newton’s may not be at full strength, the rest of the offense is. Kelvin Benjamin has lost all the baby weight he showed up with at training camp and Devin Funchess had a solid preseason showing that he’s ready to step up and be a true No. 2 receiver.
The emergence of Damiere Byrd as a deep threat should mitigate the loss of Ted Ginn and Greg Olsen remains atop the league in tight end fantasy points, yards, catches and touchdowns.
The biggest addition could end up being running back Christian McCaffrey. James Stewart is still listed as the team’s starter, but don’t be surprised to see McCaffrey get the majority of the snaps in this game. There’s a reason he went before Stewart in your fantasy draft.
This was an underachieving defense last season, but the Panthers on the whole were an underachieving team. There are still playmakers here, especially along the defensive front and a linebacker unit led by the best in the game, middle linebacker Luke Kuechly.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
This will be Shanahan’s debut as a head coach on a team where his dad Mike made a name for himself as its offensive coordinator 30 years before. San Francisco actually looked decent in the preseason, but don’t be fooled. This isn’t a team that’s headed for a winning record and, in fact, for quarterback Brian Hoyer, the worst thing that could happen is for the 49ers to reel off a couple of early wins and get expectations up. Hoyer can only play when no one is watching. He’s like a sasquatch that way.
While the 49ers are going to lose plenty of games, they’ll score their share of points. Pierre Garcon is a legitimate NFL receiver and Marquise Goodwin could really break out in Shanahan’s scheme with his Olympic speed. This could also be the season Carlos Hyde can use all his promising talent into a real featured NFL running back.
The defense has some solid players at every level, but there are major holes. This was the worst unit in yards and points allowed last season (No. 32 in both) and the only significant upgrade they made was drafting Reuben Foster out of Alabama. Granted, that’s a pretty significant upgrade, but it’s not going to put the defense in the top half of the league in a season.
The Pick
As fun as Shanahan’s offense can be, the 49ers are in a rebuilding year. Unless C.J. Beathard is the guy, they’ll still be looking for their franchise quarterback in next year’s draft and, frankly, winning any more than four games could cost them that chance. I’m a believer in not only a bounce back season for Carolina, but a return to the playoffs and an NFC South title. To do that, they need to start the season strong and can’t toy around with a team like San Francisco. Panthers 34, 49ers 23
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