The Rundown - After their Monday Night loss to the reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, the 49ers found themselves in a more favorable match-up, paying a visit to Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium. However, the game itself would tell otherwise as the ghost of the 49er defense was seen once again, allowing 30+ points for the second time in three games. The offense also had its struggles as QB Alex Smith was out of sync with his receivers throughout the entire game until finally connecting with WR Josh Morgan for a touchdown on the final play from scrimmage. Other than Smith's lone TD, there weren't many positives to point out for this struggling 49er team.
One of the bigger stories in the NFL thus far, is the surprising 2-0 start for the Kansas City Chiefs who did a good job on Sunday, utilizing some of the oldest tricks in the book, from the flee-flicker to the onside kick. The tough one-two punch of KC's running backs Jamal Charles and Thomas Jones contributed to the offense by each rushing for over 90 yards, with Jones reaching the end-zone in the 4th quarter on a goal line run. As both the defense and the ground attack benefited from its weak opponent, the rest was left to Chiefs QB Matt Cassel who did a good job distributing the ball equally to his wide-outs. In spite of Kansas City's best start since 2003, Cassel hasn't had the type of season one would hope for. But with 250 passing yards and 3 touchdowns to show for, Cassel had his best start yet, in route to a lopsided 31-10 victory.
With nothing doing from Frank Gore and the rest of the 49ers ground attack, it would've been a good idea to rely on the passing game. But with the frustrating Alex Smith under Quarterback, it's hit or miss. Just when you hope Smith would test the opposing teams defense, he throws a little 5 yard swing pass. Something he and offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye have relied heavily on during the first several weeks to this 2010 season. And one day after 49ers head coach Mike Singletary said Jimmy Raye would remain the teams offensive coordinator all year, he fired him. With Raye out, coach Singletary promoted quarterback coach Mike Johnson to take over the reign. Although San Francisco is nowhere near the number three position they ranked in defense last year, they rank at the bottom of the chart (31st) in Points Per Game with (12.7), only behind the lowly Carolina Panthers who are also struggling and own a record of 0-3.
Week 4 Preview - While the 49ers sink to the bottom of the division and remain win-less, the Chiefs on the other hand continue to impress and now own an unbeaten record of 3-0. Which makes me ask, which of the two is more surprising? Week 4 could very well sing a similar tone with San Francisco falling to 0-4 as they prepare to pay a visit to the Georgia Dome. Of all the games last season, the loss at home to Atlanta in Week 5 proved to be one of the more cruel losses for me, having to sit threw the entire 45-10 beat down WR Roddy White and company served up. Optimistically speaking, perhaps another offensive coordinator adjustment is all the 9ers need to get back on track and into their winning ways. Let's hope so!
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