San Francisco 49ers

Buccaneers vs. 49ers: Top 5 Matchups to Watch in Week 7

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The 1-5 San Francisco 49ers are desperate for a win. Can they find success when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7? Winning these matchups could help.

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly watches play during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers will host the 2-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. Both teams have struggled so far this season and are desperate for a win.

The Niners will be without running back Carlos Hyde who has been an absolute workhorse for the offense. Tampa Bay will also be without their lead running back, Doug Martin.

With both running backs out for Week 7, both teams will have to find a different way to win this game.

But what do the Niners have to do to win?

Let’s look at five key matchups to watch this week against the Buccaneers. These five matchups could greatly swing the outcome of this game.

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock (26) breaks up a pass to Buffalo Bills wide receiver Robert Woods (10) during the second half at New Era Field. Buffalo beat San Francisco 45-16. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Evans is a big physical receiver, and he leads the Buccaneers in targets and receptions.

With Buccaneers running back Doug Martin out for the week the Niners will have to shift focus to Tampa’s dominate receiver.

Mike Evans leads the Bucs in every receiving category. Evans has 32 catches for 449 yards and four touchdowns.

Oct 2, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) makes a catch in the first half against the Denver Broncos at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

All signs point to defensive back Tramaine Brock owning the task of covering Evans. For a reference point, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin is a good comparison to Evans. Benjamin had over 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns against the Niners defense in Week 2.

Rookie corner back Rashard Robinson has been stellar so far this season, but has missed most of the week as he undergoes concussion protocol.

The Niners will welcome back Jimmie Ward this week, but Ward will likely be eased back into action.

Safeties Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea will have to play the role of safety net when it comes to stopping Evans. One on one matchups between Evans and any corner back will be rough.

The Niners will have to find a way to keep Evans from completely taking the top off of this defense.

November 8, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (59) congratulates defensive end Arik Armstead (91) for sacking Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) during the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner have an opportunity to shine. Let’s hope they take it.

The young Oregon Duo, known affectionately as the “Twin Towers,” has some opportunity to build off of momentum following Week 6. Against the Buffalo Bills the two young players had a combined eight tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble recovered by DeForest Buckner.

Oct 10, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) is sacked by Carolina Panthers defensive back Robert McClain (27) in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Jameis Winston will need to be pressured early and often if the Niners want any real shot and slowing down the Bucs. Bucker and Armstead are the keys to creating pressure.

The tandem will face a team that has allowed 2.4 sacks a game totaling 12 sacks, according to SportingCharts. The Bucs offensive line hasn’t given Winston a ton to work with, and Buckner and Armstead need to expose this weakness.

Winston is a strong mobile quarterback who has the ability to keep a play alive. The Niners need to find a way to kill plays quickly.

If Buckner and Armstead can explode from the start of the game, the defense could see some success. Containing Winston should be a high priority for the Niners heading into Sunday’s match.

Oct 2, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tackle Joe Staley (74) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Staley needs to help keep Colin Kaepernick on his feet. Gerald McCoy will be sure to disrupt that.

Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has been selected to the Pro Bowl the last four years in a row. That doesn’t happen because of luck. The man can ball.

The only person standing between Colin Kaerpernick and McCoy is the Niners own Pro Bowl tackle Joe Staley. Staley has been a staple for the Niners offensive line for the last decade, and he will need to dominate the trenches this week against the Bucs.

Niners signal callers have been sacked 13 times through just six games.

Much of that can be attributed an all around weak offensive line, but Joe Staley will need to step up this week to prevent another sack, or three.

August 26, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers kicker Phil Dawson (4) kicks the football out of the hold by punter Bradley Pinion (5) during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium. The Packers defeated the 49ers 21-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

A battle between to field goal kickers not the matchup you expected to read about? Why not?

The Niners have struggled at finding the end zone as of late. And when you can’t find the end zone, you kick a field goal.

Oct 10, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo (19) kicks the game winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. The Buccaneers won 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Phil Dawson has connected on 87.5 percent of his field goals and 100 percent of his extra point attempts. Between field goals and extra points, Dawson has a total of 21 scores for 35 points.

That has earned Dawson the second spot on the list of the Niners top scorers. Only Carlos Hyde is responsible for more points.

On the other end of the state, Robert Aguayo finds himself in a similar situation. Aguayo has a total of 20 points on the season, trailing wide receiver Mike Evans by just four points.

The Bucs drafted Aguayo with the first pick in the second round of the 2015 Draft. Many outsiders mocked the Bucs for this pick. The season has not started as well as Aguayo or the Bucs might have hoped. Aguayo has only scored on 50 percent of his field goal attempts and has made 89.9 percent of his extra point attempts.

With poor red-zone play, both teams will have to rely on the sure-footed kickers to bring in the points this week.

Hopefully they aren’t the only ones scoring.

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Shaun Draughn (24) misses a catch during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The Niners have struggled on third down on both sides of the ball. They need to fix this, fast.

The Niners are not good at converting on third down. But they might be even worse at stopping their opponents from doing so.

Team Rankings and SportingCharts have some great insights regarding the Niners on third down.

First, let’s look at the offense.

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs for a first down as San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Nick Bellore (50) and cornerback Rashard Robinson (33) pursue during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The Niners have converted on just 35 percent of their third down plays. What is worse is that the team has had 24 drives end after just three plays. That is called a 3-and-out, and the Niners have more of them than any other NFL team. They need to find a way to convert more plays for first downs. First downs lead to more points, and more points leads to more wins. It is simple math.