49ers vs. Chiefs: 5 key Week 3 matchups for San Francisco

The San Francisco 49ers, coming off an ugly win in Week 2, will face the red-hot Chiefs in Kansas City this Sunday. Niner Noise looks at the top matchups to watch in the game.

What’s odd about the San Francisco 49ers‘ Week 2 win against the Detroit Lions is that the majority of Niners fans, including me, feel worse about the win than the Week 1 loss against the Minnesota Vikings.

If you only looked at the box score of San Francisco’s first win, you wouldn’t be able to tell why the performance in its home opener would cause concern among fans.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo did not look good off the stat sheet, misfiring on multiple passes and lacking pocket awareness that ultimately led to him getting sacked six times. The secondary, outside of cornerback Richard Sherman, also did not play well. Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. beat the unit multiple times, but quarterback Matthew Stafford overthrew him each one of those times to save face for the San Francisco secondary.

I could go on and on about how the 49ers did not play up to their potential and how their performance was particularly concerning despite getting the win. But as many players have said, there’s the 24-hour rule. We’re moving on to Kansas City.

The Chiefs have been dominating the league for the first two weeks of the season. Second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks like the real deal, and wide receiver Tyreek Hill has been toasting every secondary that comes his way.

I do not expect the 49ers to escape Kansas City with a win, especially because this Week 3 game will be the Chiefs’ home opener. Arrowhead Stadium, one of the loudest stadiums in the league, will be packed with excited Chiefs fans eager to watch Mahomes tear up some defenses.

However, it should definitely be a fun game, highlighted by these top five matchups to watch.