SF 49ers vs. Saints: 3 weaknesses Kyle Shanahan must expose in Week 10

The SF 49ers are heavy underdogs in Week 10, yet these three Saints weaknesses are there for Kyle Shanahan to expose.

There’s a good chance the 4-5 SF 49ers get blown out of the water by the red-hot 6-2 New Orleans Saints in Week 10 as head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad makes its seemingly annual field trip to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Niners, losers of two consecutive ugly bouts, limp into the contest without most of its top offensive weapons and will rely on a makeshift array of quarterback Nick Mullens, tight end Ross Dwelley, wide receiver Richie James, who knows at center, and a running back tandem of Jerick McKinnon and JaMycal Hasty.

Sounds much more like the second half of a Week 2 preseason game. And it doesn’t bode well against a Saints team featuring quarterback Drew Brees, running back Alvin Kamara, and wide receivers Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. One squad looks poised for a Super Bowl run, while the other is merely trying to get through the second half of the season without losing too many more bodies.

No wonder The Action Network has San Francisco as 9.5-point underdogs.

Still, no team is perfect. The Saints do have weaknesses heading into this Week 10 bout even if they’re heavy favorites.

If the SF 49ers hope to pull off the upset, they don’t have to necessarily do it in the shootout-kind of fashion experienced when these two teams squared off at the same venue last year.

Instead, Shanahan looking to take advantage of these three New Orleans weaknesses would be a good way to ensure an upset is at least possible.