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Twenty teams were eliminated last week, this brings our surviving entrants down to 186 with 8 weeks left to go in the
season. Last week we managed to fade the dreaded Thursday night nightmare on Halloween of all nights,
when the 49ers were able to pull out an unnecessarily close victory against the Cardinals 28-25. The
Cardinals jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and had me doubting game manager Garoppolo's ability to
keep up with the potent Cardinal offense. But then the tables turned and the Niners had the 21-7 lead at half,
wrap it up, easy game right? Wrong the Cards rallied back outscoring the Niners 18-7 in the second half
capped by an 88 yard touchdown from Andy Isabella to bring the game within 3. But alas, the Cards
couldn't get a stop and the Niners held on. Seriously, I would not bet against Kyler Murray if they are down
by a score and have the ball last.

Now, on to this week, where I will again be taking the cowards way out by selecting the largest favorite of
the week in the Saints at -13.5 on the road vs the Atlanta Falcons. The announcement that Matt Ryan
would be returning for this game shockingly did not move the line an inch. Bottom line in this one is the
Falcons can not stop anyone, and this week that anyone is Drew Brees and the best team in the NFC.
Could this be Dan Quinn's final coaching performance? Hopefully the Dolphins can do me a favor and
knock off the next biggest favorite Colts at home, which will surely eliminate a large number of
remaining players.

Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Trey Lance

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has said throughout the offseason after selecting rookie QB Trey Lance 3rd overall in the 2021 rookie draft, that Lance will have a “tough time” becoming the starter this year. But is that just coach-speak for “he’ll be starting after a few regular season games”?

Well, let’s take a look at the details here: Garoppolo was the QB just two seasons ago when the surging 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl to lose to the Chiefs 31-20. Lance, on the other hand, has been flashing some highlights in practice and impressed the world with an 80-yard touchdown play to wide receiver Trent Sherfield in this past weekend’s preseason game.

That said, news from the 49ers beat reporters has remained consistent: Trey Lance continues to show his upside in loose practices, but Garoppolo is far better at situational football. It’s important to remember that when you’re constantly blowing out teams (like Lance generally enjoyed in college at North Dakota State), you don’t get a ton of real world practice in high-pressure, two-minute drill, game-winning, come-from-behind types of situations.

Garoppolo will make over $24 Million over the 2021 NFL season and provide the 49ers with a stable, veteran structure to make it to the postseason and compete for another Super Bowl with a win-now stable of talent.

The 49ers traded up to get Lance in this year’s draft - trading 3 first round picks and leaving them without a first round selection until 2024. But Garoppolo is playing for his life and a future home in another NFL city. My money is on Jimmy G retaining the job this year, barring injury. Trey Lance’s era in San Francisco most likely begins in 2022.

Cam Newton vs. Mac Jones

When asked about whether he was going to start Week 1 for the Patriots at a press conference this past Monday, Cam Newton said: “Y’all sitting up here asking silly questions to me and I’m looking at y’all with the same thing. I don’t know what y’all want me to say…You know, you know that. You know he hasn’t said that, so for you to just ask the question, it is what it is.”

It’s clear that the QB1 spot for the Pats is still up in the air with the team drafting Mac Jones as the 15th overall pick this year and Cam Newton’s less-than-stellar performance at the position last season. Stats after the first preseason game? Newton went 4-7 for 49 yards while Jones went 13-19 for 87 yards. Admittedly Jones had more playing time.

Yesterday’s scrimmage session with the Eagles resulted in good numbers from both of them, with Newton going 13-15 and Jones going 13-14 on the day. Notably, the Eagles kept calling Cam the ‘Checkdown King’. We have a lot of preseason football to go and plenty of Patriots fans are calling for Jones to get the nod in Week 1, but if we look at Belichick historically it’s much more likely that Cam will be the one lining up to start on September 12th against the Dolphins.

Belichick and the Pats in general tend to favor the more experienced players unless the competition is head & shoulders above them. Interestingly, there are reports out of camp of Newton/Jones being slotted in for quick plays inside of each others’ series so there may be some extra trickery at foot. This one is still anyone’s game based on preseason performance.

The Carolina Panthers have officially traded star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers, according to a recent tweet by Adam Schefter and announced during a rare Thursday Night Football matchup that was actually high-scoring and entertaining! In return for CMC the Panthers will receive 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks in 2023, and a fifth-rounder in 2024.

Stunner: Panthers are trading Pro-Bowl RB Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for draft picks, sources tell ESPN.

McCaffrey returns to the Bay Area, where he attended Stanford. pic.twitter.com/R474r3eSkv

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 21, 2022

After losing starting running back Elijah Mitchell in the opening game against the Chicago Bears with a sprained MCL, the 49ers have struggled to fill the position and often employ a rotation of players. This move certainly signifies a strong push for the team to go deep into the playoffs and will be looked at positively by fantasy football team managers as the 49ers have far more talent on the roster with the likes of George Kittle and Deebo Samuel.

It remains to be seen how quickly Christian McCaffrey will be phased into the offense, but I'm guessing immediately. Sometimes a star player moving to a new offensive scheme and playbook can develop slowly, but all signs point to the fires burning hot here with CMC the uncontested lead back for the 49ers - one of the best rushing teams in the NFL. Look out, NFC West. Look out NFC.