49ers must be wary of these sneaky concerns vs. Raiders in Week 17
By Peter Panacy
No. 1 concern 49ers have with Raiders: A letdown game
We’ve seen this before, and it’s happened with teams led by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
The Niners locked up the NFC West two weeks ago, yes, but they’re still in play for higher seeding within the conference playoff picture. However, with each passing week in the No. 3 seed and not having climbed up any higher, San Francisco seems destined to trip up in at least one of its remaining regular-season contests.
And playing down to the level of a squad like the Raiders is always a possibility.
Las Vegas has nothing to play for but pride, while the 49ers are balancing whether or not to actively compete for a higher seed or to mitigate risk by resting starters and impact players.
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While resting starters in itself isn’t a bad idea, there’s also the risk of Sunday turning into the inevitable trap game.
One that the Raiders would love nothing more than to enact against their former Bay Area rivals.
The Niners and Raiders kick off on Sunday, Jan. 1 at 4:05 p.m. ET from Allegiant Stadium.
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