49ers vs. Chiefs: 5 matchups San Francisco must win in Week 7
By Peter Panacy
49ers vs. Chiefs matchup No. 4: Niners cornerbacks containing JuJu Smith-Schuster
Not far behind Travis Kelce on KC’s team leaders in receiving stats this season, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster certainly has to enjoy playing with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the No. 1-ranked Chiefs offense after spending the last few years flailing in an inept Pittsburgh Steelers passing game.
Smith-Schuster, whose 370 receiving yards is more than any 49ers player entering Week 7, could wind up taking advantage of any over-emphasis on covering Kelce, meaning there might be plenty of one-on-one matchups to watch here.
In this regard, the Niners may be at a disadvantage anyway. No. 1 cornerback Charvarius Ward is day-to-day with a groin injury and might not be available, while San Francisco lost fellow starting cornerback Emmanuel Moseley to a season-ending ACL tear in Week 5.
With one corner already down, and if Ward is either unavailable or not close to 100 percent, matchup up against Smith-Schuster with reserve defensive backs like Deommodore Lenoir, Dontae Johnson or Ambry Thomas seems to be a risky proposition.
If the 49ers manage to limit that liability, though, they should be in decent shape toward containing Mahomes, Kelce and Smith-Schuster.