Week 3 Scouting Report: The 49ers to come to town

After an impressive outing in Pittsburgh, the Chiefs look to beat the San Francisco 49ers at Arrowhead. Here’s how they win this week:

The season has gotten off to a better start than many expected for the Kansas City Chiefs. After going on the road to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs return to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs have been led by an explosive passing attack. For Patrick Mahomes, this is the first home game of his career. Can this offense carry them through yet another tough game?

This is how the Chiefs beat the 49ers in Week 3:

Offense:

Running back passes in the flats (Watch)

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Both the Vikings and the Lions have teams with playmakers on offense. The 49ers are well aware of the downfield playmaking ability of the Vikings on this play. This leaves running back Dalvin Cook all alone in space underneath. Cook runs by a defender for a great gain. If the Chiefs want to get Damien Williams involved, he could have a big day in the passing game. However, if Reuben Foster is at his best, he may make it a little tougher for running backs to have openings.

Attack man-to-man coverage (Watch)

Richard Sherman is still feared among NFL quarterbacks. He was avoided for much of the first two weeks. However, whoever the 49ers march out as the number two guy should be targeted. Kirk Cousins saw this matchup and challenged the man coverage. With a great throw, the Vikings score a big touchdown. Sammy Watkins and Chris Conley should have favorable matchups.

Defense:

Stop the power run (Watch)

The 49ers established the run in each of their first two games. With the team talking up Jimmy Garoppolo all offseason, I was surprised to see so much of this. Matt Breida and Alfred Morris are no joke. They are both strong runners and with a couple of good blocks, they have a chance of breaking a tackle and going all the way.

Be Disciplined (Watch)

The 49ers like to run this misdirection and fake end around stuff. It honestly reminds me of the Chiefs offense with Alex Smith under center. A lot of misdirection and passes underneath. If the Chiefs hope to have a good defensive outing, they will need to stay at home and not bite on play action. On this play, the middle of the Vikings defense gets frozen and George Kittle comes out the other side wide open. This will be a tough task for the Chiefs linebackers and safeties.

Get pressure on the quarterback (Watch)

Jimmy Garoppolo has struggled against pressure thus far in the season. In his defense, the 49ers have allowed a lot of pressure to flow through. However, he gets rattled in pressure. On this play, the Vikings burst through the offensive line, Garoppolo sees this and forces a pass to the outside and is way off of his mark. This is too easy for the Vikings defense.

Offensive Public Enemy #1

George Kittle, TE

Kittle has a chance to be a very good tight end in the NFL. With good route running ability, he is difficult to cover in man to man coverage. To me, this is the biggest mismatch on the field for any defense playing against the 49ers. With good acceleration and quickness for a man of his size, he has a similar play style to Travis Kelce. The Chiefs will need their safeties to step up in a big way if they hope to keep Kittle in check.

Offensive Public Enemy #2

Marquise Goodwin, WR

Understand this: Tyreek is faster. That being said, Goodwin’s big play ability cannot be understated. With Goodwin out of the lineup, the 49ers have had trouble creating separation with defensive backs. If he is in the lineup, this offense has more room to operate because he can take the top off opposing defenses. Even though Orlando Scandrick looked better last week, covering Goodwin is not ideal for him.

Offensive Public Enemy #3

Matt Breida, RB

Brieda has split carries with Alfred Morris and both backs have looked capable to this point. The 49ers have shown some power in the first two weeks of the season. The offense has gone to an I-Formation much more than I expected to see. Brieda is not only a threat on the ground, but also through the air. When he releases out of the backfield, he is a tough cover for linebackers. Anthony Hitchens has another tough task this week.

Defensive Public Enemy:

DeForest Buckner, DL

While there are several players that could be at this spot, none popped out on film more than DeForest Buckner. With a great motor and exceptional strength, Buckner wreaks havoc in the middle of the line. He is the complete package as he can make stops against the run and can get to the quarterback. The interior linemen will have their hands full on Sunday.

Offensive Scheming Player #1

Sammy Watkins, WR

Sammy Watkins should see a lot of targets on Sunday. I fully expect CB Richard Sherman to line up more on Tyreek Hill than any other Chiefs receiver. As seen on the tape, in one on one coverage, the corners, with the exception of Sherman have shown struggles. Watkins should find his way open a lot in this one.

Offensive Scheming Player #2

Tyreek Hill, WR

With Richard Sherman matched up with Tyreek Hill, it is only a matter of time before Hill runs by him. Sherman is no longer an elite player nor does he possess great speed. This could mean at least one big play from Hill whether it be on a long or short pass.

Offensive Scheming Player #3

Damien Williams, RB

Receiving running backs have seen success against the 49ers. Williams is one of the best in the business at catching passes out of the backfield. I would not be surprised at all to see Andy Reid call his name if he is one on one with Reuben Foster. Kareem Hunt would likely not have the same impact in the passing game what Williams would.

Defensive Player that needs to step up:

Any and all safeties:

The Chiefs need the best out of all of their defensive backs, but none more than at safety. The team is still without Eric Berry and it has shown. In Pittsburgh, the Chiefs allowed Jesse James to have a big game and struggled in coverage at times. George Kittle is the best tight end that the defense will have faced. Eric Murray, Ron Parker and Armani Watts need to be playing their best ball to stop big gains in the middle of the field.

ANALYSIS

This one could go one of two ways: The Chiefs will either roll over the 49ers in the home opener or the 49ers will give them fits and squeak a win by the Chiefs. I, however, believe that the Chiefs will beat this team.

Next. Madden '19 sim betrays Chiefs in Week 3. dark

That being said, the 49ers offer a few matchup problems that the Chiefs have not seen up to this point in the season. It will be very interesting to see what the Chiefs do with a team like the 49ers.

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