49ers vs. Chiefs: Week 3 preview for San Francisco
By Chris Wilson
Week 3 by the numbers
Over the first two weeks of the season, the Chiefs have the NFL’s best offense and worst defense — according to many metrics, including Football Outsiders’ DVOA — after winning a pair of shootout games against AFC rivals.
The Chiefs opened the season on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers, and torched one of the NFL’s top pass defenses from 2017 with four scores through the air, en route to a 38-28 victory. The Chargers amassed 424 passing yards, and added 123 rushing yards on just 22 attempts, but two turnovers and a punt-return touchdown by Kansas City proved to be too much for the home team.
In Week 2, the Chiefs jumped out to a quick 21-point lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers, thanks to three touchdown passes by Mahomes in the first quarter of the game. However, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger responded with three TD tosses of his own in the second quarter, which knotted the game up at halftime.
Mahomes opened the second half with three more touchdown throws, and while Pittsburgh attempted to mount a fourth-quarter comeback, they eventually fell to the visiting Chiefs, 42-37.
Over the first two games of 2018, second-year running back Kareem Hunt has 17 rush attempts per game, equaling his average from his rookie season, but his average yards per carry has dropped from 4.9 in 2017 to 3.6 in 2018. After catching 53 passes as a rookie, Hunt has just a single reception so far this season.
Meanwhile, after splitting their first two games, the 49ers are near the middle of the pack both offensively and defensively, although they rank higher in the run game on both offense and defense.
While quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has struggled, running back Matt Breida has filled in nicely for the 49ers after the preseason injury to top RB Jerick McKinnon. Brieda currently leads the NFL in rushing yards per attempt and rushes over 20 yards, and would lead the league in total rushing yardage if not for Cleveland Browns RB Carlos Hyde‘s 61 rushes, compared to Breida’s 22 attempts.
Although the 49ers look to be the better team on the ground, Sunday’s game will likely be decided through the air, where the Chiefs have been virtually unstoppable to start the 2018 season: