Chiefs hit a bump in the road heading into matchup with 49ers
The Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) are facing off against the San Francisco 49ers (3-3) for the first time since Super Bowl LIV, where the Chiefs won, 31-20. Obviously, there will be a lot of new faces in this matchup. It's the NFL, where rosters are turned over way more often than they're kept together. But […]
The Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) are facing off against the San Francisco 49ers (3-3) for the first time since Super Bowl LIV, where the Chiefs won, 31-20.
Obviously, there will be a lot of new faces in this matchup. It's the NFL, where rosters are turned over way more often than they're kept together.
But the newest face of all is that of former Carolina Panthers (1-5) running back Christian McCaffrey, who was traded to the 49ers during the waning minutes of Thursday night's matchup between the New Orleans Saints (2-5) and Arizona Cardinals (3-4).
Getting shipped off to another team, less than 72-hrs before the next kickoff nonetheless, far from guarantees playing in that upcoming game. Sure, McCaffrey is a veteran, but he's learning a completely new playbook and that obviously takes time.
Well, apparently, McCaffrey has learned enough of the playbook to warrant a role on Sunday against the Chiefs. And this comes without logging a full practice with San Fran on Friday.
That's because, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, McCaffrey will in fact play against the Chiefs in Week 7:
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the 9ers have a "package of plays" they plan to use McCaffrey in.
It'll be interesting to see how many plays and what those plays actually are. It's probably safe to assume McCaffrey will see around 20 snaps in all, which is a decent chunk of playing time for a guy who was just acquired a few days ago.
Apparently, McCaffrey campaigned for playing time and apparently, the 49ers not only listened, but figured out a way to get him on the field. This comes after general manager John Lynch said it would be a "tall order" for McCaffrey to play against the Chiefs.
"It's a tall order," said Lynch. "We're going to do what's right by Christian. What's right by our team. I do think that's a tall order, but you know we'll see how much we can accelerate this. He's asking to [play]. I'll leave that to the coaches and whatnot to get Christian up to speed, but I do think that it's a tall order and we'd sure love to have him, but it's a lot to ask, so we'll make a very thought out decision on that as well."
But, it's completely reasonable to see why the 49ers want him McCaffrey on the field. Especially considering the fact the offense has put up 14 or fewer points in three of six games so far this year.
And, if there is a coaching staff capable of finding and maximizing a role for McCaffrey this early on, it's certainly Kyle Shanahan's staff.
Featured image via Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
