The San Francisco 49ers visit the Kansas City Chiefs in the Chiefs’ home opener of the 2018 NFL regular season. Niner Noise previews the 49ers’ Week 3 matchup, including key stats, players to watch, X-factors, injury news and how to watch the game live.
After winning their first game of the season in last week’s home opener at Levi’s Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers will travel to Kansas City to take on a red-hot Chiefs offense in front of a loud crowd at Arrowhead stadium on Sunday.
Check out Niner Noise’s post-game grades and analysis for a breakdown of the 49ers’ Week 2 victory over the Detroit Lions, including a recap of the game and full position grades.
While the 49ers enter tomorrow’s game with a 1-1 record, the 2-0 Chiefs have been nearly unstoppable on offense so far this season, thanks to the stellar play of second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Although they moved up in the 2017 NFL Draft to select Mahomes with the 10th overall pick, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach didn’t force their future franchise quarterback into an immediate starting role last season.
Instead, the pair allowed Mahomes to spend his first NFL season learning from former San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith, before the Chiefs traded Smith to the Washington Redskins after the conclusion of the season. Reid credits Smith’s willingness to help his fellow QB as a major reason for Mahomes’ incredible start to 2018.
Mahomes currently boasts a 143.3 quarterback rating after throwing a record-breaking 10 touchdown passes in the first two games of the NFL season. Thanks to their explosive offensive attack, Kansas City has scored 80 points over their first two road games.
Partially due to their high-powered offense, the Chiefs are currently favored over the 49ers in tomorrow’s matchup by 6.5 points, after opening as 4.5-point favorites, per OddsShark.
Let’s break down some important statistics for the San Francisco 49ers’ third game of the 2018 NFL regular season: