Defense Will Be X-Factor For San Francisco 49ers In Week 7

By Jeff Pearlman @thedadeeoh on October 17, 2014

Typically articles of this nature focus on a single player being the X-factor in a given game, but as the San Francisco 49ers head to the Mile High City to face Peyton Manning and the 4-1 Denver Broncos, it’s just not that easy. Ironically enough, it’s only one player who makes it so difficult, and it’s not Manning; it’s Patrick Willis. Or should I say, it’s the increasingly probable absence of Willis.

In Monday Night Football’s win over the St. Louis Rams, Willis hurt his toe. On the surface, an injured toe shouldn’t keep one of the NFL‘s toughest inside linebackers out of any game — especially one as important as this weekend’s game against one of the most potent offenses in football — but this is the NFL, and an injured toe can be the difference between a solo tackle and Willis laying on the ground as Julius Thomas rumbles away for a touchdown.

As anyone who has played football or any sport requiring quick footed movement (which would be every sport save for golf, I guess) knows, everything from the hips down needs to be in working order. The fact that Willis has yet to practice and is currently listed as questionable for Sunday’s game shows that the injury is severe enough that he cannot plant or push off his foot well enough to compete at the sport’s highest level, and if he could, you know Willis would be lining up against the Broncos. But he’s not, and the 49ers will have to make do without their leader on defense.

As we all know, NaVorro Bowman is still dealing with the after effects of a brutal knee injury sustained in last year’s NFC title game. The best-case scenario for his return is after the 49ers’ Week 8 bye, but at this stage, no one knows exactly when Bowman will be fit to return. So, instead of the dynamic inside linebacking duo that the team’s fans have grown to love, the 49ers will march Michael Wilhoite and rookie Chris Borland onto the field.

Wilhoite and Borland have combined for 31 tackles this year; Willis has 36. It’s like trading two Batmans for two Robins.

Luckily enough for the 49ers, the Broncos’ run game has been less than efficient in 2014. Through five games, they have averaged a minuscule 91.2 rushing yards per contest, which is horrible enough to rank them 26th in the NFL. On the flip side, Peyton’s bunch has averaged 297.8 yards per game through the air, ranking them among the best four teams in the league. While Willis doesn’t play in the 49ers’ secondary, his mere presence would be enough to for Manning to yell Omaha multiple times per snap.

Without Willis, the Nebraskan city of 434,353 residents won’t get as much attention, but make no mistake about it; the 11 members of the 49ers’ defense will because they are without a doubt the X-factor for the 49ers in Week 7.

Jeff Pearlman is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.