How Kansas City Chiefs should game plan San Francisco 49ers in Week 7 – Chiefs Wire
In Week 7, the Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers (3-3).
Kansas City is coming off a tough 24-20 home loss to the Buffalo Bills. Fortunately for the Chiefs, they are getting healthier and will get linebacker Willie Gay Jr. back from suspension this week. As for the 49ers, they are coming off a disappointing road loss to the Atlanta Falcons in which they were shut out in the second half. They’re also getting healthier, with potential for some key pieces on offense and defense to return in Week 7.
Let’s take a closer look at the 49ers and see what it will take for the Chiefs to get back in the win column.
Chiefs’ defense vs. 49ers’ offense
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Kyle Shanahan is in his sixth season as the 49ers’ head coach and is also the team’s play-caller on offense. He is one of the best offensive minds in football, yet a lot of his formations and concepts are old school. Shanahan runs a 21-personnel base offense (two running backs, one tight end and two receivers) which forces the defense to stay in its base formation more often.
The backbone of the 49ers’ offense is the outside zone running scheme. The offensive linemen pull towards the sideline, blocking whoever is in their zone rather than a certain man. Running backs typically have three options-bounce outside, cut upfield between the linemen, or cut back across the formation.
Outside zone running can be boom-or-bust. It can often get stuffed for little or no gain but can also yield big chunks of yardage. The 49ers have one of the most balanced offenses in the NFL with a near 50/50 split between rushing and passing.
While they haven’t been bad rushing the ball by any means, they haven’t met their usual high standard this season, ranking 12th in rushing yards per game. Starter Elijah Mitchell has been injured throughout most of the season, but Jeff Wilson Jr. has done an admirable job filling in at 4.9 yards per carry.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo thrives off the running game with play-action. The niners passing game is fairly West Coast-oriented with Garoppolo getting the ball out of his hands quickly with short, horizontal passes to receivers in space. Overall Garoppolo has played as his usual game-manager self with a solid 7:3 touchdown/interception ratio and 7.8 yards per completion average.
The Chiefs’ defense will have to be sound up front and force the 49ers’ offense into 3rd-and-long situations. The more passes Garoppolo has to throw, the higher chance there is that he will begin to press and make mistakes. It’s no coincidence that he threw two interceptions last week while throwing a season-high 41 pass attempts.
Willie Gay Jr. returning to the lineup will be a nice boost for the K.C. defense. He should relieve some pressure off of Nick Bolton in run support while also contributing against the short passing game. The 49ers like to sneak fullback Kyle Juszczyk out as a receiver in the flat, something that Gay could contain. He could also see some action against Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle.
The Chiefs’ defenders will also need to know of receiver Deebo Samuel’s whereabouts all game long. He is a big play machine and is the 49ers’ leading receiver and second-leading rusher. Samuel’s speed is the first thing people think of him, but he is great at breaking tackles. When a Chiefs’ defender has him in their grasp, they have to bring him to the ground.
Chiefs’ offense vs. 49ers’ defense
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DeMeco Ryans is in his second season as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator. He runs a base 4-3 defense and a Cover 3 scheme in the secondary (dividing the deep portion of the field into thirds with two outside cornerbacks and free safety in the middle).
The Chiefs’ offense has seen this scheme a few times already this season and have produced mixed results against it. The 49ers execute it as well as any defense in the league. They currently rank third in Football Outsiders’ Defensive DVOA metric, second in pass defense, second in rush defense and second in sacks.
One of the best ways to attack Cover 3 is to overload the defender responsible for the deep middle with a “four verticals” passing concept, creating a two-on-one. The Chiefs did a good job of this against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was their best offensive performance of the season.
What really makes the 49ers’ pass coverage dangerous is All-Pro middle linebacker, Fred Warner. He is one of the most complete linebackers in the NFL and can cover like a safety. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was intercepted by Warner in Super Bowl LIV, will need to be aware of him at all times.
The Chiefs’ offensive line, which has struggled more than people thought this season, will have its hands full yet again this week. S.F. has four different defensive linemen with at least three sacks. Even though the 49ers are also very good against the run, it might be best for the Chiefs to commit to the running game and be patient with it.
Last week against the Bills, Kansas City’s running backs ran the ball just 13 times. Going back to the game against Tampa Bay, the Chiefs’ running backs ran the ball 32 times for an impressive 154 yards against a good Bucs run defense.
Mixing up Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco early and then riding the hot hand could set the tone for the K.C. offense. Forcing Fred Warner to cheat up would open things up across the middle in the passing game.
Three of the four defensive linemen that are leading S.F. in sacks will enter this game banged up or possibly not play, giving the Chiefs a golden opportunity to be the more physical team in this game.