#275 San Francisco 49ers
vs.
#276 Kansas City Chiefs
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Written by David Hess
NFL week three preseason action on Saturday evening and the NFC West will square off with the AFC West as the San Francisco 49ers grapple with the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Niners are off a 24-15 road win over the Broncos to move to 2-0 in the preseason, while the Chiefs were beaten 17-7 at home by Pittsburgh to fall to 1-1 in the preseason.
Niners Move To 2-0 In The Preseason
The San Francisco 49ers had high hopes last year, but they were derailed early on with the loss of QB Jimmy Garoppolo early on. they were just 1-2 after his three games, but he had 718 yards passing in those three games. On Monday night, he made his preseason debut and it was not a great one as he was just one-for-six with an INT. The Niners are hoping for much more from him in this one and he should see some extended time. The whole Niners’ passing game struggled in the 24-15 win over the Broncos as they had just 108 yards passing in the contest. They could have a better showing this week against a KC defense that was 31st in the league against the pass a year ago. The Niners will need Garoppolo to play well in this one as neither CJ Beathard or Nick Mullens have looked that great in the preseason so far.
The ground game is another matter, but it is a good one for the Niners. San Francisco was 12th in the league in rushing last year and they had just 88 yards on their opening win over the Cowboys, but the ground game exploded for 185 yards in their win over the Broncos. The Chiefs have looked good against the run so far, but they were 27th against the run last year. San Fran brought in Tevin Coleman in the offseason and he got his first action of the preseason against the Broncos, rushing for 21 yards on three attempts. Raheem Mostert had a big game with 58 yards rushing and a TD, while also hauling in two passes for 42 yards. The receiving corp will be better this year, especially with the addition of Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd through the draft and Jordan Matthews through free agency. The Niners should be far better on offense this year.
Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy G. & more recap the win. #SFvsDEN https://t.co/rbYZyJ782S
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 20, 2019
The Niners were 13th in the league in total yards last year, but 28th in the league in points allowed, giving up 27.2 ppg. The reason for that is because the offense put them in bad positions for much of the year. That should change this year with a healthy Garoppolo, a strong running game, and an improved WR corps. The defense has looked very good in the early going as they have allowed just 24 total points in the first two games and 295.5 ypg. The pass defense was very good on Monday night as they allowed the Broncos just 139 yards passing. The pass defense should be improved during the regular season, especially when they get DB Jason Verrett on the field. He will be missing the entire preseason and is questionable for game one of the regular season. This defense will have a good test in this one as they should be facing KC’s first-team offense for much of the first half.