Cross-Town Catfight

Last week's _______ (shellacking, egg-drop, schneid, non-performance) against the Chiefs brought many of us back down to earth. We demanded the spotlight after the Rams victory and wrote off the Eagles loss as a sub-par performance against a Super Bowl contender before facing a winless Kansas City team hardly known for its defensive prowess. 41 points later we find ourselves in this current situation: the Raiders (another winless team), Niner offensive coordinator Norv Turner's former team, coming to town in a showdown of junior varsity offenses and non-existent defenses. For Bay Area fans though, this game actually holds some significance. If either the Niners or the Raiders want to avoid (or postpone) the crash at the end of their freefall, they must prove it this Sunday against an equally underachiveing (supposedly) team.

Raiders captain Randy Moss (there's so much wrong with that phrase) could break out with a monster game, especially if the Niner pass rush continues to play like, well, the Raiders. Bryant Young & Co. had 9 sacks through the first two games but only 3 in the past two, while the Raiders front line has managed only 4 QB takedowns in 3 games. The Niners can't afford to let 6'6" QB Andrew Walter feel comfortable in the pocket, letting Moss run around an inexperienced secondary.

The weak Raider defensive line might allow the 49er offensive line to regain some composure too. After giving up 5 sacks to the Chiefs (!), the unit looks sluggish, which is forcing Alex Smith into making some poor throws. Despite their poor sack numbers, the Raiders actually rank 3rd in pass defense, allowing only 138 pass yards per game. However Frank Gore (who as a starter can't afford any more fumbles) and Michael Robinson can open up the passing game by taking advantage of a rush defense that allows 145 yards per game.

This matchup should be everything you expect: ugly, high in turnovers, called by Fox's Double-A team, and full of Raider fans pissing in the sinks of Monster Park.

HMB Prediction: Niners win 20-17