Niner Noise
FanSided

49ers vs. Redskins: Full Week 6 preview for San Francisco

By Logan Stanley

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 08: Brian Hoyer #2 of the San Francisco 49ers drops back to pass during first quarter of the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 08: Brian Hoyer #2 of the San Francisco 49ers drops back to pass during first quarter of the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 08: Brian Hoyer #2 of the San Francisco 49ers hands the ball off to Carlos Hyde #28 of the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter of the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 08: Brian Hoyer #2 of the San Francisco 49ers hands the ball off to Carlos Hyde #28 of the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter of the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /

Offensive & Defensive X-Factors for San Francisco

Play-action passing

With five games played, Hoyer has turned in some very uneven performances. Hoyer had terrific games against the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts, but has not played well in the other three games against the Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.

What hasn’t been uneven about Hoyer’s performances is the success on play-action. According to PFF, no quarterback has run more play action (51 plays) than Hoyer and it’s on that play type where he excels.

On play-action, Hoyer’s 98.7 quarterback rating ranks 10th among qualified passers, per PFF. He is sandwiched between New England’s Tom Brady and Los Angeles’ Philip Rivers to give you an idea. On non play-action, Hoyer’s rating falls to 67.6, which is last among quarterbacks.

That disparity, 31.1 points in rating, paints a clear picture: run play-action and your chances of succeeding with Hoyer vastly improve. And considering Washington’s pass defense is No. 1 against play-action, it makes it all that more important that play-action is in the mix for San Fransisco.

Limiting Kirk Cousins

So far in 2017, Cousins is playing well. Cousins has thrown for seven touchdowns to just one interception, passed for 1,004 yards and owns a 107.6 quarterback rating. And I know what’s on your mind:

Cousins is the lifeline of this Redskins offense; they only go as far as he goes. And considering the 49ers secondary has been picked apart at times this season, Cousins could have a potential juicy matchup ahead of him.

Cornerback K’Waun Williams figures to be covering wide receiver Jamison Crowder, who head coach Jay Gruden said he wanted to get more involved this game. Why does this matter? Because Williams has allowed more yards (238) than any other cornerback when covering the slot this year.