[Mick]

Niners are third on run defense.

Stats lie.

They have been mediocre at best, especially of late.

Mediocre?  You are being too kind.  The run D has been terrible the last couple of games.  

I think KC will win - Mahomes is by far the best QB in the league and Kelce was unstoppable v. Baltimore (11 for 11).  On the other side of the ball, Jones is a major concern for the 49ers OL and McDuffie will create problems for the 49er receivers.  Chiefs by 10.  Hope I am wrong……..

Kinda feel the same. Hope I'm wrong. I think the 49ers have more really strong starters, but their feet of clay are considerably worse than KC's. The 49er floor is lower, so to speak. Case in point, Chase Young. Lots of ability, second overall pick in the 2020 draft, should be at his peak. He had five sacks in seven games for the Commanders, including 18 tackles, six tackles for loss and 11 QB hits. In the 11 games for the 49ers since he was acquired, he's had 2.5 sacks (and only one in the past eight games), 16 tackles, two tackles for loss and three QB hits. His contract is up after the Super Bowl, and I saw an article that claimed that management had a little sit-down with him to effectively say your entire next contract revolves around what you do in the playoffs. To be fair, his performance against Green Bay and Detroit has been better than his first nine games for the 49ers. Kinlaw, Ambry Thomas...and on offense, OLs not named Trent Williams have not been terrific.

As for the Chiefs...Nick Bosa's comment on their OL reminds me of the great scene in The Sting, when Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) is getting the low-down on the mark, Doyle Lonnegan, and JJ Singleton explains "He cheats. He's pretty good at it, too." That was the tone and content of Bosa's comments on how well and how often KC's OL holds. If you went back and looked at Super Bowl LV, you'd be pretty impressed...they got away with quite a lot. And the referees swallow their whistles during the Super Bowl. Perhaps that will help PI-prone Thomas.

Kansas City's defense plays a lot of man coverage. Hopefully, Aiyuk will have a big game. Their DT, Chris Jones, sacked Garoppolo twice, had a QB hit and a TFL in the 49ers' last super bowl. Aaron Banks and Jake Brendel are still the starters. Feliciano will replace Spencer Burford. Feliciano has done a great job (ranked 5th among guards by PFF), but Banks (ranked 53rd) and Brendel (18th among centers) have been weaknesses.

Really hope the 49ers find that extra gear for this game.

[Mick]

Niners are third on run defense.

Stats lie.

They have been mediocre at best, especially of late.

Mediocre?  You are being too kind.  The run D has been terrible the last couple of games.  

I think KC will win - Mahomes is by far the best QB in the league and Kelce was unstoppable v. Baltimore (11 for 11).  On the other side of the ball, Jones is a major concern for the 49ers OL and McDuffie will create problems for the 49er receivers.  Chiefs by 10.  Hope I am wrong……..

Kinda feel the same. Hope I'm wrong. I think the 49ers have more really strong starters, but their feet of clay are considerably worse than KC's. The 49er floor is lower, so to speak. Case in point, Chase Young. Lots of ability, second overall pick in the 2020 draft, should be at his peak. He had five sacks in seven games for the Commanders, including 18 tackles, six tackles for loss and 11 QB hits. In the 11 games for the 49ers since he was acquired, he's had 2.5 sacks (and only one in the past eight games), 16 tackles, two tackles for loss and three QB hits. His contract is up after the Super Bowl, and I saw an article that claimed that management had a little sit-down with him to effectively say your entire next contract revolves around what you do in the playoffs. To be fair, his performance against Green Bay and Detroit has been better than his first nine games for the 49ers. Kinlaw, Ambry Thomas...and on offense, OLs not named Trent Williams have not been terrific.

As for the Chiefs...Nick Bosa's comment on their OL reminds me of the great scene in The Sting, when Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) is getting the low-down on the mark, Doyle Lonnegan, and JJ Singleton explains "He cheats. He's pretty good at it, too." That was the tone and content of Bosa's comments on how well and how often KC's OL holds. If you went back and looked at Super Bowl LV, you'd be pretty impressed...they got away with quite a lot. And the referees swallow their whistles during the Super Bowl. Perhaps that will help PI-prone Thomas.

Kansas City's defense plays a lot of man coverage. Hopefully, Aiyuk will have a big game. Their DT, Chris Jones, sacked Garoppolo twice, had a QB hit and a TFL in the 49ers' last super bowl. Aaron Banks and Jake Brendel are still the starters. Feliciano will replace Spencer Burford. Feliciano has done a great job (ranked 5th among guards by PFF), but Banks (ranked 53rd) and Brendel (18th among centers) have been weaknesses.

Really hope the 49ers find that extra gear for this game.