Dissecting the Most Crucial Matchups in the SF 49ers' Week 16 Game vs. Chargers

The San Francisco 49ers played an intense battle last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Although the 49ers lost 17-7, the effort was there.

Now, with a record of 7-7 and eliminated from the playoffs, it will be very interesting to see how the 49ers react. Head coach Jim Harbaugh may be on his way out, which also may be cause for a letdown.

The San Diego Chargers, on the other hand, are fighting for a playoff berth and desperately need a win. Denver leads the AFC West with a record of 11-3, so at 8-6, the Chargers must win out to have any realistic hope of making it to the postseason. San Diego is locked in a battle for a wild-card spot and can ill afford any losses. 

Let's take a look at some of the key personal battles that will likely tip the scales to the winner.

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The San Diego Chargers have a future Hall of Fame player in tight end Antonio Gates. He is in his 12th season in the NFL, all with the Chargers. 

Gates will likely become more of a focal point of the San Diego offense, as wide receiver Keenan Allen is banged-up and may not be able to play. At a minimum, Allen will be slowed by his knee and shoulder injuries.

With Allen hurting, San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers will be looking for Gates a lot against the 49ers.

This season, Gates has 58 catches for 662 yards and 10 touchdowns. The responsibility for containing him will fall on 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea, who has played well this season. 

Bethea is one of the few 49ers defenders who has played in every game, thus far. He will have to find a way to neutralize Gates and not let him do damage, especially in the red zone.

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A strong pass rush is essential if the 49ers hope to stop Rivers and the San Diego offense. With this in mind, the next individual battle to focus on is Aldon Smith against left tackle King Dunlap.

Since returning from his nine-game suspension, Smith has gradually played himself back into game shape and has been a force on the 49ers' pass rush. 

With the 49ers' defensive secondary extremely banged-up, a strong pass rush is essential to help the cornerbacks. Tramaine Brock, Jimmie Ward and Chris Cook are all out, and both Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox are nursing injuries and may not be available against the Chargers.

This means the 49ers may be down to their sixth, seventh and eighth cornerbacks, Dontae Johnson, Leon McFadden and Marcus Cromartie, playing against the Chargers.

Dunlap is a formidable opponent and a huge man. He stands 6'9" and weighs in at 330 pounds. Smith will not be able to overpower Dunlap, so look for him to try to use his speed to get around him. The 49ers will also employ some line stunts to try to get the San Diego offensive line off balance.

If Smith and the 49ers' pass rush does not pressure Rivers consistently, he will carve up the depleted secondary.

Although not specifically playing against each other, something to watch is 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick matching wits with Chargers safety Eric Weddle.

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Weddle leads the Chargers with 99 tackles, 26 more than their next defender. He is playing at a Pro Bowl level this year and has started every game for San Diego.

Although he has only one interception, Weddle is all over the field, and Kaepernick must be aware of where he is. Against the Seahawks, Kaepernick failed to see open receivers and also missed on some passes that should have been completed.

Kaepernick's ability to quickly see the field and find open targets has not improved much this year. In addition, there are too many throws he makes to open receivers who are simply off-target.

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Against the Chargers, Kaepernick must account for Weddle and find his open targets.

With the Chargers competing for their playoff lives and the 49ers out of the playoff chase for the first time under Harbaugh, it will take a superb effort for the 49ers to come up with the win. If the 49ers fall behind early, this is the type of game that could get ugly.

As a whole, we will see how much pride the 49er players have. In addition, we will get a good sense of how much they believe that Harbaugh is gone at the end of the season. If the 49ers play hard and give us their best effort, we will know they have not quit on Harbaugh.

All stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.