Kurtenbach: The superior 49ers should handle the Panthers. But does that sound like the 2025 Niners? My predictions for Monday Night Football

The NFL schedule makers in their infinite algorithmic wisdom have given us a Monday night curiosity The ers I get big brand big names big ratings for ESPN But the Carolina Panthers I m not even sure if noted superfan Steph Curry has watched a full Panthers contest this season And was this supposed to be a breakthrough campaign for them So the NFL s the majority forgettable unit will be on arguably the sport s biggest stage And having watched them in preparation for Monday Night Football I have selected bad news to deliver The Panthers are not a good football association They aren t even a bad football company because bad teams at least have the decency to have an identity No the Panthers are something far worse aggressively mediocre They re the unsalted cracker of the NFL The waiting room music of the league I could go on But it s that pile of nothingness that would make Nietzsche shudder that makes Monday s championship the greater part dangerous night of the year for Kyle Shanahan Related Articles Kurtenbach Even after four years and starts the NFL doesn t understand Brock Purdy Quarterback disagreement Purdy just reminded everyone why he s the ers No Studs and Duds The ers big three Purdy Kittle McCaffrey dominate in blowout win over Cardinals Kurtenbach The San Francisco ers are healthy My Niners-Cardinals prediction ers roster plan from Shanahan Lynch was brash The bill is coming due The Panthers cannot beat the ers Don t misconstrue that The Panthers can win on Monday They have won six times already this season But they cannot go toe-to-toe with the ers both teams playing their best and win And that makes this championship the ultimate litmus test for the Niners Can San Francisco take care of their business capitalize on Carolina s a large number of deficiencies and stroll to a win Or will they run head-first into wall after wall while the Panthers stand there hands in their pockets just doing their unremarkable thing Don t pretend like that can t happen to San Francisco The Packers thought they were above losing to the Panthers They were -point favorites at home after all But then they had two turnovers missed a field goal and failed to contain the run and suddenly despite outgaining Carolina by more than yards and with Bryce Young only throwing for yards the Packers lost at home The Panthers accept this kind of gift weekly with the polite nod of a doorman collecting a tip They don t force errors they entirely provide a safe space for them to happen And six times this year an opponent has looked at the Panthers and reported Here you take it If San Francisco is what they want to be a legitimate playoff crew and one that can win a match or two even with all their injuries then this meeting should be a procedural formality A real contender looks at a crew like Carolina identifies the lack of elite firepower and its non-playable-character defense and squeezes the life out of them A contender plays clean boring victorious football and they take care of this early This should be procedural Does that sound like the ers Related Articles How to watch ers vs Panthers on Monday Night Football Brandon Aiyuk s ers future dims while Brock Purdy Ricky Pearsall march into Monday matchup Matt Gay once kicked the ers out of the Super Bowl Now he s replacing Eddy Pi eiro ers Curtis Robinson knows Monday Night Football lights carry special meaning ers Christian McCaffrey on pace for historic season especially as receiver So yes this is a trap and it has a massive neon-lit sign with an arrow pointing down at it If the ers lose this contest it won t be because Young carved them up It won t be because the Panthers schematic brilliance overwhelmed this club runs a lot of mirrored concepts on offense like it s high school ball No if the Niners lose it will be because the ers beat the ers And for a crew that has not earned the benefit of the doubt this season such a loss would be disqualifying For what it s worth I do expect the ers to win There are too a large number of universes where San Francisco overwhelms an inferior group And here are three predictions for the match Ricky Pearsall has a day Stop checking the box figure and genuinely turn on the tape Ricky Pearsall played well against Arizona you just couldn t see it I saw the panic this week It was laughable The kid wasn t just running cardio he was absolutely cooking professional defensive backs He was beating man coverage consistently snapping off routes and getting open at will The ball didn t find him that happens in an offense with Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle but the separation was undeniable Shanahan will have seen it on the All- Brock Purdy would have seen it And against the only unit in the NFL that s as bad at pressuring the quarterback as the ers they will have time to get Pearsall the ball this week I imagine it will be a top priority We did this same thing last year folks Let s not forget hard-learned lessons The targets are coming Pearsall s breakout isn t a hope it s inevitable Hands up The ers pass rush requirements to change its psychology this week and I think they will Sacking Bryce Young is great but sacks have been hard to come by for this patchwork ers defensive line So why not just throw your hands up instead Young is historically small -foot- and maybe pounds He makes Brock Purdy look like Cam Newton and Cam Newton look like Shaq And with that diminutive stature Young has to throw high-arcing loopers just to clear the line of scrimmage He practically sacks himself half the time with his processing speed The directive for the defensive line shouldn t be kill it should be reach Alfred Collins should have a big day in this regard Playing right up the middle the -foot- defensive tackle also possesses -inch arms How is Young going to see over that If he just stands there and puts his mitts up he s getting pass breakups by accident Make Young try to throw over a forest and the turnovers will fall into your lap Simple plan The Panthers have so various things going against them on defense but if they have one area of quality it might be in slowing down interior runs So all that gap-scheme stuff the Niners have been running in newest weeks Please put it on the back burner you ll need it later No the Niners need to get back to the basics of the Shanahan offense and run outside zone again and again and again this week Carolina runs basic Cover They have no one who can set an edge Run the ball to the perimeter turn the corner and watch the yards pile up It s a layup Don t be the Warriors and miss it PREDICTION ers Carolina Niners get up early and mess around for the rest of the competition You ll be happy to know that Gonzaga will play Alabama in men s basketball on TNT while the Rockets take on the Suns on Peacock