San Francisco 49ers: First-take regular-season schedule predictions for 2018
By Peter Panacy
Week 3 @ Kansas City Chiefs
This game would have been a bit cooler had the Kansas City Chiefs not traded quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins this offseason.
Well, somewhat cooler.
At any rate, the 2018 Chiefs will be led by second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who takes over starting duties for the first time since being drafted in Round 1 a year ago. Mahomes is an unknown commodity at this point, an X-factor. And while all signs are pointing to the Chiefs loving everything about him, we’ll have little clue until he takes the field for an extended period of time.
Meanwhile, some of the Chiefs’ offseason moves were questionable at best. They moved an All-Pro cornerback (more on him in a bit) and inked an underperforming wide receiver, Sammy Watkins, to a lucrative three-year, $48 million deal — a lot of money for a receiver, who misses nearly 50 percent of his targets.
K.C.’s offense might be hit or miss this season, although there are other notable weapons there (tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, running back Kareem Hunt, etc.). But it’s all for naught, if the quarterback play isn’t up to par.
Yet the 49ers may want to exploit the Chiefs’ weak running defense, which allowed an average of 4.3 yards per carry last season. Grabbing linebacker Anthony Hitchens in free agency should help the Chiefs a bit in this department, but it’s still a worthwhile strategy for head coach Kyle Shanahan.
That should do the trick, as the Niners get back above the .500 mark.