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San Francisco 49ers: 3 big questions entering Week 3 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

By Akshaj Dwivedula

KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 11: Outside linebacker Justin Houston #50 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during the preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at Arrowhead Stadium on August 11, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 11: Outside linebacker Justin Houston #50 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during the preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at Arrowhead Stadium on August 11, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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San Francisco 49ers Detroit Lions Week 2 preview
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 09: Richard Sherman #25 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after recovering a fumble in the first half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

No. 2: How will the 49ers secondary play?

This might be the most important part of the game for San Francisco. With players like wide receivers  Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, tight end Travis Kelce, and running back Kareem Hunt, the 49ers secondary will be bombarded with throw after throw.

There is one bright spot on the 49ers defense, and that is the rejuvenated and reinvigorated Richard Sherman. For all the people expecting the veteran cornerback to be a shell of himself, I’m sorry. Just take a look at these Pro Football Focus stats:

These are elite stats. These are the stats that get players onto the All-Pro first team and to multiple Pro Bowls.

To put these stats in simple terms, Sherman has allowed only one catch when covering a player on four targets. That means that in two games, opposing quarterbacks have thrown at Sherman just four times. He’s allowed approximately 18 yards on his only allowed completion.

But for every good comes a bad. Look at this throw chart from PFF’s Jeff Deeney:

The right side, 10 yards and more, is Sherman’s territory. Naturally, there are no attempts or completions. However, the other side is dotted up, with two touchdowns and over 150 yards. That is fellow cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon‘s area. Niner Noise’s Jeremy Wohlfart described it best when writing about what didn’t work for the 49ers defense by saying, “The secondary other than Richard Sherman.”

Witherspoon was suffering from an ankle injury and had a rough outing against the Lions. Now he gets to face players like Hill and Watkins. That could spell disaster.

However, if Witherspoon manages to play decently well, and Sherman stays his lockdown self, then the 49ers have a real shot of winning the game. The chances of this happening are very slim, though.

Not helping matter is the injury to safety Jaquiski Tartt. Tartt has been struggling with finishing tackles, but he is still better than the alternatives the 49ers have. All of these issues leave a very slim chance of slowing down the Chiefs, leading to the importance of this next question.