Will the 49ers Finally Get Revenge on the Chiefs?
It won't be easy, but if the Colts were able to beat the Chiefs, then the 49ers certainly can as well. Here's what they must do to win:
1. The 49ers must get healthy. There are three key guys who must play:
The best left tackle in football, Trent Williams.
The best defensive end in football, Nick Bosa.
One of the five best cornerbacks in football, Charvarius "Mooney" Ward.
Then there are five more questionable players that the 49ers need most of them to play and to play well:
One of the best safeties through six games, Talanoa Hufanga.
Starting free safety Jimmie Ward.
Starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
Starting defensive end Samson Ebukam.
Rookie phenom defensive end and possible Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Drake Jackson.
But wait, there's more who are questionable:
Second-string tight end Charlie Woerner.
Second-string strong side linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who is replacing Azeez Al-Shaair.
It's a very long list, but all of them could play. Even defensive tackle Arik Armstead hasn't been ruled out out as of yet.
2) The 49ers must execute. Can't have many interceptions, fumbles, or drops and probably need to force some from the Chiefs. Must run the football consistently. Must have a special performance from the special teams unit, or at least no blunders there either. Whoever plays boundary cornerback across from Mooney Ward, likely Deommodore Lenoir, should expect to be very busy, until they prove that they can play at or near Ward's level. Center Jake Brendel will have his hands full with trying to slow down arguably the best defensive tackle in football, Chris Jones. Defensive tackles Kevin Givens and Hassan Ridgeway will have to show that they can stop, or at least slow the run. They were two of lowest rated 49ers defenders in Atlanta, per Pro Football Focus. Last, but very far from least, is limit tight end Travis Kelce. If George Kittle was ever going to have a breakout game to prove who is the best tight end in football, then National tight ends day would be the time.
If that wasn't enough, Chiefs star linebacker Willie Gay is back this week off of his suspension. The hope would be that he will be rusty, but I wouldn't bank on that. More likely that he is rested and fresh. Rookie phenom cornerback Trent McDuffie also returned to practice this week. This appears to be the best secondary that Jimmy Garoppolo has faced since Sunday Night Football in Denver and we all know how that ended up.
As of now, I'm picking the Chiefs, but that could change by the time I make my official score prediction about an hour before kickoff, once we know who will play and who won't. I'm not saying the 49ers can't win, but a lot of things will have to go their way, in order for that to happen. Patrick Mahomes is one of the the best quarterbacks in football, but as I predicted this offseason, the Chiefs offense isn't nearly as explosive without Tyreek Hill.
