Lions vs. 49ers: 5 key X-factors for San Francisco in Week 2

The San Francisco 49ers host the Detroit Lions for their home opener in Week 2, and these five key X-factors will be critical for the Niners to secure their first win of 2018.

Perhaps the San Francisco 49ers should never have won their Week 1 bout last Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. After all, the Niners are still more than a handful of players away from legitimately competing for a Super Bowl, while the Vikings are there now.

That said, head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. will look to get their first win of 2018 in the books when the 0-1 Detroit Lions come to down on Sunday.

The Lions looked awful in their 48-17 Monday Night Football rout at the hands of the visiting New York Jets. Quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed four interceptions on the night, was banged up in the process and had little by the way of figuring out a still-growing Jets defensive secondary throughout the game.

Needless to say, this presents an opportunity for San Francisco in Week 2.

The 49ers, of course, didn’t play their best game in Minnesota either. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo tossed three picks of his own in the loss, while his offensive line was both injured and shoddy in pass protection. The Niners suffered a flurry of drops and were generally ineffective in the red zone.

All that was against a stout Vikings defense playing at home in U.S. Bank Stadium, though. So the prospects for a Week 2 Niners win do seem much better than they were last Sunday.

That said, the 49ers will need to capitalize in a number of different matchups versus Detroit while getting the better end of critical X-factors throughout the game.

Here are five of those here.