3 ways 49ers end up beating Colts on Sunday Night Football

The 49ers have to get off the schneid in Week 7 at home against the Colts, and doing these three things should help them accomplish it.

Technically, Week 7 isn’t anything close to a must-win game for the San Francisco 49ers when they square off for a prime-time Sunday Night Football matchup against the 2-4 Indianapolis Colts at Levi’s Stadium.

But if the Niners lose yet another high-profile nationally televised bout, thereby turning a three-game losing streak into a four-game one, there will be a lot more problems to figure out for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. than there already are.

In addition to all this, San Francisco had two weeks to prepare and rest for this game, coming off its Week 6 bye, making the need for a victory that much more apparent.

Shanahan’s offense has been disjointed for much of the year. Whether it’s the unnatural “going back and forth” between quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, not getting wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk more targets or failing to come up with an effective game plan, Shanahan has to ensure whatever strategies he has for this contest are on point.

Likewise, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans will want his side of the ball performing as it did in the 17-point Week 5 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Not like the meltdown against the Green Bay Packers in Week 3.

Fortunately, there are some specific ways Shanahan, Ryans and the Niners can vastly improve their chances against an Indy squad that has plenty of problems of its own.

Here are three tactics San Francisco should employ for Week 7.