Alex Smith got older and actually progressed substantially. I used to watch Niners games with him and half his throws would end up in the first row of the bleachers. It was amusing. My buddy is a Niners, he hates Alex with a passion.
Alex has typically been awful at WR targets. Tyreek is just a blur and they have a connection. Otherwise his favorite connection is his TE, Kelce. Kareem also gets substantial targets in Reid's offense. It's kind of a bad matchup for us, because Byron could normally have TE duty, but we're going to need him over the top for Tyreek. Heath shading Tyreek could get ugly.
This is going to be a "cover tyreek and the middle of the field" game.
Lee is going to need to play pretty well. Kareem is going to be going out into the flats a lot.
Kelce is going to be a tough matchup if Byron is needed elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he got double digit targets this game.
If we can prevent Hills big plays, stifle the Kareem wheel out game, and just get into Kelces pass catching lanes, we should do enough to win at least.
I think we'll see a little bit more running from Dak this game, their run defense is not good, and they'll be keyed on Elliott hard. Beasley should get some targets.
They really need to use a lot of playaction. Everyone knows the big test is their terrible run D against our run game. That slight hesitation will give our passing game the best chance to succeed.
34-27 Dallas.