Man. Exactly my thought when I saw this tweet last night.

The Chiefs OTs being an issue just does not pass the eye test during this playoff run. Nowadays yes, all tackles lose from time to time. But both Taylor and Smith have been rock freakin' solid.

The way bigger mismatch to discuss will be Chris Jones vs. McIvits.

The shit he did last week should really worry folks. If he's reading the pressure and getting the ball out quick like that, there's just no answer.

Its as though you took the best parts of Rodgers and Brady and combined them into a single guy. A guy who will process you to death but if you make a mistake and anything breaks down, he'll be more than happy to cut your throat over the top as well.

This is next level football he's playing right now.

Not trying to be cocky or overconfident but man looking at the 49ers defense with the way Mahomes is playing? I think we're due for a 30 point game.

The 49ers secondary is really bad. Like Chiefs 2018 level bad. Wide open WR's all over the field in both playoff games. Oh and both running games getting 6+ YPC on the ground from their lead backs. Detroit could have ran for 200 on those guys.

It feels like we could do exactly what we did in Baltimore to these guys. Get up on them early and force them to abandon the run and have Spags open his blitzing torture chamber upon Purdy.

Again, not being overconfident but I think this could be the first SB we play that could get ugly for our opponent.

I keep having a lot of the same feelings I had going into Buffalo.

I felt like we could score whenever we needed against Buffalo but Buffalo has a couple of weapons that could give us trouble in Kincaid and Cook.

SF is very similar to Buffalo in that regard, but a little better. Kittle is a little better than Kincaid, CMC better than Cook, their WR duo is better than Buffalos as a complementary threat. Their defense is also bad but a little better than Buffalo's (in the condition it was in).

Now Buffalo had Allen who played very well and that serves as a bit of an equalizer. If Purdy can have a career game and be at/near the level Allen was, we're going to have trouble. Because at that point they're Buffalo but better.

But if I just put a 'representative' performance in there for Purdy - that's not going to be good enough.

Had Buffalo stayed healthy, that would’ve been a really really tough out.

And it's one thing for a guy like Allen to have a good game against this elite defense....

I think he's a west coast guy. He seems to favor the Niners as well. I generally like his stuff, but this is a bit unfair. It's just one rep.

Wilks has to come out and do unexpected stuff, which isn't likely because it's far from his style. Simms spoke to that this morning. If they call the defense like they have been, Mahomes will have his way up and down the field.

They also can't let Pacheco just bludgeon them either, if he does, it's going to open up some explosive opportunities.

If KC jumps out 14-0, it gets ugly I think.

I don't see another comeback for SF in this spot. That Super Bowl + Mahomes matchup pressure will hit Brock different.

So will we have time to run Jet Chip WASP again?

Obviously, the 49ers have several star players who are dangerous. I don’t doubt that. That’s why they’re here.

I really feel that their stars aren’t in places where we won’t have an answer. They’ll produce but I have a hard time seeing one of them wreck this game. McCaffrey would be the most likely, but having Gay back will help.

Their receivers are amazing, but this is the best secondary in football with the the best DC.

Bosa is a great player, but our OL has really come on lately. Still have Mahomes and Reid to neutralize him.

Warner is incredible, but their run defense in general hasn’t been good. Still have Kelce and Rice to operate over the middle.

Trent Williams is great, but he won’t help with Jones wrecking the middle of that line.

If that happens and the Chiefs play it safe on offense, Jones could be a dark horse MVP.

If the 49er run game isn’t a factor and Jones gets to pin his ears back against their interior OL, expect a big day.

Yeah, when you look at matchups, I just don't think the 49ers' defense has the Xs and Os or Jimmies and Joes to significantly hinder the Chiefs' offense.

The basic scheme they like is not a good matchup against KC. They run their zone, and rely on their players winning. That shit just isn't going to cut it against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.

And the players they have on the back end are NOT good fits against KC even if they switch up the scheme and run a bunch of man.


Outside of Bosa, I don't think the 49ers have a DL that is going to consistently succeed against the Chiefs' OL.

They also don't have much complexity or disguise going on.

What I don't think is really being discussed in matching the 49ers offense to the Chiefs defense is WHERE the 49ers want to run.

This is a run game that wants to get OUTSIDE and run stretch. Even when they run it with Samuel, it's not about trying to get inside.

The Chiefs' defense defends outside run quite a bit better than interior power run.

Maybe they come in and use the I and try to power it up the middle. But that isn't really what this offense is about.

Another matchup I'm interested in... when the 49ers are in their 11 set, who is kept in to pick up blitzers? Are they going to use McCaffery or do they pull Kittle in for that?

49ers ran 11 as their primary formation (about 1/2 the time) and 22 about 1/3 of the time.

That 22 set might be the one they try to lean into and power it against KC. But if they're doing that, it means that one of the WRs is off the field, so is it really a loss?

Solid post.

I think the only thing preventing a KC win is multiple turnovers and/or backbreaking penalties.

If we can keep a lid on CMC, I think we're just not losing this game. If I'm Spags, runs to CMC and throws to CMC are plays 1a. and 1b. that we have to take away.

Make Purdy throw into our elite secondary. If he's consistently hitting those tight window throws, you just tip your cap. Running their offense through CMC is just too easy for them. Have to take it away first.