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3 reasons SF 49ers bounce back with win vs. Washington

By Peter Panacy

Pierre Garcon #88 of the Washington Redskins avoids a tackle by Chris Culliver #29 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Pierre Garcon #88 of the Washington Redskins avoids a tackle by Chris Culliver #29 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Alex Smith, Washington Football Team
Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith (11) Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3: Alex Smith isn’t Josh Allen

One of the prime reasons why the Niners lost in Week 13 was the poise and playmaking abilities from Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who posted 375 pass yards with four touchdowns against zero interceptions.

Allen picked apart zone defenses with ease, then found mismatches when San Francisco went to man coverage. Blitzing wasn’t overly effective, and Allen had no trouble going with deep, intermediate and short targets. Simply put, he was throwing the ball at will.

Washington’s quarterback, Alex Smith, doesn’t have anywhere close the arm strength Allen possesses. Just looking at Smith’s Next Gen Stats chart from Week 13, it’s pretty safe to assume the former SF 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback will live at or just beyond the line of scrimmage:

This is a great boost to the Niners defense, which had to defend Allen at all three levels last Monday and did so with very little success.

Instead, San Francisco can cheat closer towards the line of scrimmage against a quarterback who is averaging just 5.1 intended air yards per attempt, per Next Gen Stats, good for lowest among qualifiers entering Week 14.