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The main challenge the San Francisco 49ers face against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is defending Baker Mayfield.
He’s been so sensational this season that Robert Saleh believes he’s playing at an MVP level. Throwing him off will grant the 49ers an enormous chance to win the game.
Eliminate explosive plays
What makes Mayfield such a tremendous player this year is his ability to execute throws down the field. Mayfield has thrown a downfield pass of 10 or more air yards on 36.7 percent of his attempts this season, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
He’s completed just 42.9 percent of these passes. However, his seven downfield touchdown passes are tied with Lamar Jackson for the most in the league. It is also thanks to rookie Emeka Egbuka.
He has caught four of those downfield touchdown passes, the most of any player in the NFL. Luckily, Robert Saleh preaches to his players not to give up explosive plays, and they do a fine job of it. It is thanks to their predominant Cover 4 defense.
The 49ers defense has utilized Cover 4 at the league’s third-highest rate this season (27.7 percent). They want offenses to keep everything short and sweet against them to allow Fred Warner and Dee Winters to clean up since they’re so fast.
However, Mayfield has performed well against Cover 4 this season. He’s taken 47 dropbacks (second-most in the NFL) against Cover 4 this season, completing 30 of 42 passes for 309 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Forcing Mayfield to take everything underneath will make it a fairly easy day against him. And if Mayfield wants to force a throw deep, that will give the 49ers a chance to break their streak of consecutive games without an interception.
Keep Baker in the pocket
An underrated trait of Mayfield is his mobility. He does a phenomenal job buying time and escaping pressure with his legs. Either he’s going to find an open receiver from his movements, or he’s going to take off for a modest gain.
Mayfield has generated the most total yards on scrambles this season (313), and his 166 passing yards are 36 more than any other quarterback. He’s averaged 62.6 scramble yards per game when combining passes and runs.
Now, Mayfield isn’t a burner like Kyler Murray, but clearly, he’s a threat on the run when he breaks the pocket. The 49ers must keep him within the pocket. They mustn’t shoot upfield to allow him running lanes through the middle.
And if they get a hand on him, he needs to go down. The chances will be there. The Buccaneers offense has allowed pressure on 39.1 percent of dropbacks this season, the sixth-highest rate in the NFL.
Even with an ineffective pass rush, this could be the game where the 49ers show life here since Nick Bosa was ruled out for the season. Otherwise, they’ll have to be content with containing him in the pocket.
Follow Jose on X (Twitter) @JS3sanchez_to interact with him on the 49ers.
Read more 49ers On SI
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