Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers Game Preview

Alex Smith’s long-awaited return to San Francisco comes on Sunday when the 49ers host the Kansas City Chiefs. While maybe not as dramatic as Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay, this is a game with a whole lot of intrigue.

Smith, who was drafted first overall by the 49ers in 2005, was infamously benched in favor of upstart Colin Kaepernick back in 2012. Smith left the team in favor of Kansas City following 2012. 49ers’ head coach Jim Harbaugh thought Kaepernick was the better fit for the offense, despite Smith compiling a regular season record of 19-5-1 throughout 2011 and 2012.

Harbaugh was subject to a lot of negative attention this week, as Deion Sanders claimed some 49ers want him out.

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“They want him out,” Sanders said to CBSSports.com. “They’re not on the same page. I really want to know if they’re really playing for their head coach. I got a question with that. Are you really down with your head coach, San Francisco 49ers? Because the way it looks and what I’m hearing, you’re really not down for your head coach. And that’s a problem. They really got some problems that we hear rumblings. We all know people inside locker rooms.” While Harbaugh denied the rumors, Sanders has been adamant about the rumors being true.

Smith is now the quarterback for the Chiefs, and he has been statistically better than Kaepernick in every passing category since joining the Chiefs. Smith has 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 4,204 yards and a 91.7 quarterback rating. Kaepernick has 4,109 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a quarterback rating of 91.4.

Last week the 49ers won a thriller against the Philadelphia Eagles, while the Chiefs absolutely destroyed the New England Patriots. Both teams enter Sunday’s game 2-2, and both need a win to remain competitive in their respective western divisions.

Jamaal Charles is back and healthy for the Chiefs, but he might have a tough outing against the 49ers’ stifling run defense. San Francisco currently ranks as the second best run defense in the league, per NFL.com. This will likely force Alex Smith to throw the ball. While Smith is capable of throwing the ball, he’s devoid of a big time playmaker at the receiver position.

However, tight end Travis Kelce has emerged as the number one option for Smith, and he’s even garnered some comparison to New England tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Frank Gore proved he’s still a force to be reckoned with. ‘The Inconvenient Truth’ totaled 119 yards on the ground to go along with his 55 yard touchdown reception. If Gore has another big game, the 49ers’ offense will be fine.

Establishing the run game is critical in San Francisco’s success.

Colin Kaepernick was under pressure for the majority of last week’s game against the Eagles, and Tamba Hali and Justin Houston are two of the best pass rushers in the entire NFL. The disruptive duo already has eight combined sacks this season, per NFL.com. Stevie Johnson and Michael Crabtree will need to pick up the slack with Vernon Davis out of the line up.

Final Prediction:

Chiefs win 21-17. I think this will be one of the best games of week 5, as Alex Smith will look to get revenge on his former team. With a loss, more rumors will start circulating about Harbaugh.

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