The Kansas City Chiefs are back on the road with another Super Bowl rematch. This time they’re taking on the San Francisco 49ers with just a week to go to the bye week.
The Chiefs are coming off a loss against one of their fiercest AFC conference rivals. The 49ers are coming off an embarrassing loss against the Atlanta Falcons. Which team’s players will put together the performance necessary to get their team back in the win column?
Here’s a look at four players who we’ll be paying close attention to when the Chiefs face the 49ers on Sunday:
LB Willie Gay Jr.
Fresh off a four-game suspension, Willie Gay Jr. might be just the boost that the Kansas City defense needs in Week 7. The 49ers have a very unique talent in Deebo Samuel, who can play both the receiver and running back positions effectively. Gay is the type of player that could help eliminate some of the complexity that Samuel presents for defenses from a schematic point. He’s someone who is strong in coverage that the Chiefs might not have to get too creative with their personnel groupings when they decided to go to man coverage looks.
CB Trent McDuffie
Update: McDuffie was not activated for Week 7, which means the Chiefs will see Joshua Williams play significant snaps for the second consecutive week. Look for Williams to make improvements after struggling against the Bills in Week 6.
Unless there is a last-minute change of heart, the Chiefs are expected to activate rookie CB Trent McDuffie from injured reserve ahead of the Week 7 game against the 49ers. Should he be activated, this will be the first time that we’ll have seen McDuffie in action since he injured his hamstring in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals. In that game, he played 21 coverage snaps and wasn’t targeted once by Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. Can he repeat and provide the same type of lockdown coverage in Week 7? It’d certainly go a long way toward helping this team come away with a win.
TE Travis Kelce
Kelce is still the go-to target for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and even with teams knowing that, they’ve been unable to slow him down this season. Will this game be different? 49ers S Jimmie Ward called Kelce out over the offseason, saying that he was looking forward to his matchup with him this season. I suspect that Kelce’s looking forward to it as well. A week ago the 49ers’ defense gave up two touchdowns to Atlanta Falcons’ tight ends, but Ward was absent with a hand injury.
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
Smith-Schuster is coming off of his best career game with the Chiefs, breaking out for five receptions on five targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. I’m looking for him to stack good weeks against an ailing 49ers cornerback group. Charvarius Ward is likely to play through a groin injury. Deommodore Lenoir, who was listed as a third-stringer on the depth chart back in September, will be playing opposite Ward. Then in the nickel looks, they’ll see a rookie in Samuel Womack. There are going to be some opportunities for Chiefs receivers in this game so long as the pass protection can hold up their end of the bargain.
