The San Francisco 49ers have returned home to face the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are the number-one scoring team in the NFL, but the 49ers have the number-one defense and are ranked second in points allowed. If the 49ers want to be victorious, they must focus on these five keys to victory.
CONTROL
The 49ers must keep Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the sidelines as much as possible. They want to limit the time and opportunities for Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. This may be a tall task, but if the 49ers' offense can sustain long drives and finish by scoring points, they will defeat the Chiefs.
RUN IT
The 49ers' magic number is 25, and with the new addition of running back Christian McCaffrey, it may be 23. Usually, when the 49ers run 25-or-more times, they're victorious. Against the Atlanta Falcons, the 49ers ran the ball only 17 times. Establishing the run game can help dictate the flow of the game. The 49ers have a plethora of running backs that can share the load. Head coach Kyle Shanahan must stick to his game plan and run the ball successfully to set up the play-action pass.
EXECUTE
When the 49ers fall short, it usually comes down to a missed opportunity on both sides of the football. In the Falcons game, the 49ers defense, on a 3rd-and-13, blitzed quarterback Marcus Mariota and failed, which allowed the Falcons to get the first down. The defense could not execute, so the Falcons scored later on that drive. Offensively, two big drops in the game could have put the 49ers in a scoring position. Jimmy Garoppolo may not be the best quarterback in the NFL, but he's the best option for the 49ers, and the players have to help their quarterback out. The pass-catchers of the 49ers must catch the ball.
CONTAIN
The 49ers struggle against mobile quarterbacks. Though Patrick Mahomes isn't the most mobile quarterback in the league, he will look to get outside the pocket and take off if the containment is broken. Mahomes only has 16 designed runs for 21 yards on the season, but he can scramble, damaging the defense. Mahomes has 15 scrambled runs for 97 yards. The number one issue on defense in the Falcons game was Marcus Mariota. His scrambling kept the Falcons in control. When the 49ers broke containment on the 3rd-and-13, it gave the Falcons momentum and allowed them to score on that drive. The 49ers' defense must contain Mahomes to be victorious.
ADJUST
Shanahan and the coaching staff have to do better with in-game adjustments. Be prepared if things don't go according to plan. I like to use the term, improv. Improvisation is a term used in music, meaning the art or act of improvising or of composing, uttering, executing, or arranging anything without previous preparation. It is okay to have a script, but when things don't seem to be going according to plan, the 49ers need to go off-script, make the necessary adjustments and get back on script. Mahomes is the king of improving. The defense forces him to extend plays; he improvises and usually ends with a completed pass. Not every player has that skill set, but the 49ers may need to improvise and force the Chiefs to make adjustments.
The Chiefs are a juggernaut but have also lost two games, which means they can be defeated. The 49ers, through six games, have three losses, and many say they could be sitting at 4-2 if they didn't beat themselves. The 49ers can defeat the Chiefs if they stick to these five keys to victory.