Location
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo
Time
8pm ET
1am Sunday UK
Coverage
KCTV5
Game Pass
Chiefs Radio Network
Team Records
Chiefs 1-1
49ers 2-0
Last 3 games
23rd Sept 2018 Chiefs 38 49ers 27
5th Oct 2014 49ers 22 Chiefs 17
26th Sept 2010 Chiefs 31 49ers 10
The story so far
From the sublime to the ridiculous. A very impressive performance in the first preseason game against the Bengals was followed up with a complete dumpster fire against the Steelers. In fairness the weather delay to start was disruptive (especially when it moves your kick off back to 1:30am!) but the sloppy play from both teams was pure preseason trash. Let’s hope a return to Arrowhead brings a return to a more polished performance. The 1s are allegedly playing into the 3rd quarter but I’ll be surprised if Mahomes and co are still in the game at that stage. Nothing to gain and potentially injured players to lose.
Head to head
49ers lead 7-6
Team Leaders
Passing |
Att |
Cmp |
Yds |
TDs |
30 |
20 |
209 |
2 |
|
Rushing |
Car |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
4 |
59 |
14.8 |
1 |
|
9 |
52 |
5.8 |
0 |
|
Receiving |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
9 |
88 |
9.8 |
0 |
|
4 |
70 |
17.5 |
0 |
|
4 |
63 |
15.8 |
1 |
|
3 |
48 |
16 |
2 |
One to watch
Mecole Hardman.
2 weeks, 2 TD and he looks dangerous. How far along is he with his development? Will he get a drive or two with the 1s and Mahomes tossing rainbows his way? If he continues to progress at the rate he seems to be then last year’s offence is even scarier this year.
Key Matchup
It’s preseason. I’m struggling here. Last week sapped the enthusiasm for preseason from me. Still need to see how the defence is developing but considering injuries and the vanilla essence of the schemes it’s really hard to take anything meaningful. I’m going to put Mo Clairbourne against the 49ers WR s. Is he an upgrade on what we already have? Can he be average? Above average? He’ll miss the first 4 games through suspension but it’ll be interesting to see what’s coming beyond that.
Injuries
In injury news, wide receiver Gehrig Dieter (back), cornerback Michael Hunter (groin), tight end John Lovett (shoulder), defensive tackle Breeland Speaks (knee) and tight end Deon Yelder (ankle sprain) didn’t take the field on Thursday. Still no official injury perort though.
What they said
Kyle Shanahan on Jimmy Garroppolo
“Any time you come back from injury, there are a bunch of mental hurdles you’ve got to get over, even when you’re healthy and feel good,” Shanahan said.
“I’m sure there is some stuff with it just being eerie going back to that same place,” Shanahan added, “but I haven’t talked to him specifically about it.”
What we said
Andy Reid on Mecole Hardman
“He has grown a lot since we first got him here. Figuring it all out. I like his progress. He has attacked it,” Reid said. “We talk about where he started and where he’s at now, it’s a completely different level. You can tell by the respect that he gets from the guys and the respect he has in return for the veteran players. They’ve accepted him in there and he has worked hard to gain all of that respect.”
Odds
Chiefs by 3.5. Save your money.