The Chiefs completed dominated the 49ers on both sides of the football yesterday.  Matt Cassel finally had a good game for the Chiefs as he completed 16 of 27 passes for 250 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  Jamaal Charles was outstanding once again yesterday as he carried the ball 12 times for 97 yards (8.1 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 57 yards.  Thomas Jones also was tough with 19 carries for 95 yards (5.0 ypc) with a TD run yesterday.  Dexter McCluster only carried the ball 2 times for -1 yard (-0.5 ypc) but he also caught 3 passes for 69 yards (23.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Dwayne Bowe (2 rec, 61 yards) and Tony Moeaki (4 rec, 44 yards) each caught 1 TD apiece yesterday.  The Chiefs finished up with 207 yards rushing on 39 carries (5.3 ypc) and they completed 16 of 27 passes for 250 yards in this game.

LB Jovan Belcher led the way for the Chiefs’ D in this game with 10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  OLB Tamba Hali was all over the place for the Chiefs yesterday with 3 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks and 3 QB hits.  CB Brandon Flowers pitched in with 2 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The 49ers finished up with 43 yards rushing on 15 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 42 passes for 208 yards.  The Chiefs are now 3-0 heading into their bye week.

The 49ers showed some life last Monday Night before Drew Brees stunned them with a last minute drive.  The Chiefs went on the road and beat a Cleveland team that essentially handed them the football game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers are going to try to stay balanced on offense in this game.  Frank Gore will likely get a ton of action in this game as both a runner and a receiver.  He is by far the best back the Chiefs have faced this season so the D will get a big test this Sunday, especially the linebackers.  Rookie safety Eric Berry also must step up against TE Vernon Davis who is a big guy just like Antonio Gates and Ben Watson who have given him problems in coverage.  Alex Smith can be rattled if the Chiefs get into his grill so they might have to blitz more than usual.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The 49ers are only allowing 63.5 yards rushing per game (2.7 ypc) so far this year while the Chiefs are averaging 137.5 yards rushing and 4.2 ypc so far so something has to give.  Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones will likely have a hard time with inside linebacker Patrick Willis in this game as they will have to fight for every yard they get.  The 49ers have allowed 201.0 yards passing per game so far and opposing QBs have a 108.9 QB Rating against them.  This could be the perfect matchup to get Matt Cassel going.  Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers are too talented not to get the ball so Cassel needs to make that happen this week.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 27, CHIEFS 17

The Chiefs are averaging 137.5 yards rushing and 4.2 ypc so far this season.  They have run the ball 65 times this year while only throwing the ball 50 times making them a running team now.  Thomas Jones has actually been the guy getting the most work for the Chiefs so far this year.  He has carried the ball 33 times for 122 yards (3.7 ypc) and he also has caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  Jamaal Charles is also getting a lot of work for the Chiefs this year.  He has carried the ball 22 times for 141 yards (6.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Charles has also caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg) so far this year.  Charles says he’s o.k. with the arrangement as far as carries go but I don’t know how long that will last if he keeps outplaying Jones.

The Chiefs scored 10 points off turnovers as the defense was the reason for the win yesterday.  LB Derrick Johnson (7 tackles), LB Jovan Belcher (7 tackles) and safety Eric Berry (7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 QB hit) were the most busy players on D for the Chiefs in this game.  But, it was CB Brandon Flowers (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and a interception that he returned 33 yards for a TD) and DE Glenn Dorsey (2 tackles and a fumble recovery) made the biggest plays on D for the Chiefs yesterday.  The Browns finished up with 73 yards on 26 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 31 passes for 226 yards in this game.

The offense once again didn’t look too good in Cleveland.  Matt Cassel completed 16 of 28 passes for 176 yards with 2 INTs in this game.  Thomas Jones had 22 carries for 83 yards (3.8 ypc) and Jamaal Charles who rushed for 49 yards on 11 carries (4.5 ypc) with 1 catch for 27 yards in this game as they were the keys to the O.  Rookie TE Tony Moeaki (5 rec, 58 yards) and WRs Dwayne Bowe (4 rec, 45 yards) and Chris Chambers (3 rec, 33 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs in this game.  The Chiefs finished up with 140 yards on 39 carries (3.6 ypc) and they completed 16 of 28 passes for 172 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:13 of this game.  The Chiefs are now 2-0 on the season.

The Browns beat the Chiefs last season 41-34 at Arrowhead Stadium last weekend in one of the most entertaining games of the year.  Josh Cribbs returned two kickoffs for TDs (103 yards and 100 yards) so the Chiefs will likely have to try to kick the ball away from him.  The Chiefs rolled up 491 yards against the Browns last year despite the loss.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs will likely try to be balanced in this game on offense.  They only threw for 68 yards last week but Matt Cassel threw for 331 yards with 2 TD passes against the Browns last year.  Look for Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers to be much more involved in the offense this week.  Jamaal Charles averaged 8.4 ypc while rushing for 92 yards and a TD last week.  He rushed for 154 yards on 25 carries (6.2 ypc) with a TD run last weekend.  Despite his success against the Browns last year and his big game last week, he will likely share carries with Thomas Jones.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns appear to also be using a timeshare at RB and that’s fine with the Chiefs.  In fact, that hope that Peyton Hillis gets a lot of carries in this game.  That’s because Jerome Harrison rushed for 286 yards on 34 carries (8.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs against the Chiefs last year.  The Browns’ running game will be even more of a threat to the Chiefs with Seneca Wallace likely starting at QB for the injured Jake Delhomme.  With Wallace starting at QB I would think that he would use TEs Ben Watson and Evan Moore a lot on bootleg passes.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 31, CHIEFS 28

CB Javier Arenas and RB/WR Dexter McCluster really provided a jolt on the special teams in the win Monday Night over the Chargers.  Arenas returned 3 kickoffs for 59 yards (19.7 avg) and 2 punts for 60 yards (30.0 avg) against the Chargers.  As good as Arenas was though, McCluster made a bigger impact.  He returned 3 kickoffs for 100 yards (33.3 avg) including one return that went for the 94-yard TD.  The rookies are looking like they are going to make a huge impact for the Chiefs this year.

The Chiefs have signed 28-year old outside linebacker Charlie Anderson.  Anderson played in 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 17 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.  He has now played in 92 games in his NFL career and he has 122 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 7.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles.  This was a very solid pick-up for the Chiefs.  The Chiefs also placed 22-year old rookie 4th round pick Cameron Sheffield (OLB) on the Injured Reserve List with a neck injury.

The Chiefs will be without starting DE Tyson Jackson for 1-2 weeks due to a sprained MCL in his left knee.  Jackson had 6 tackles in the season opener last night against the Chargers.  Shaun Smith will replace Jackson at DE until he’s ready to return to action.  Smith had 3 tackles against the Chargers last night.  This will hurt the pass rush of the Chiefs until Jackson is ready to return to action.

The Chiefs won this game last night because of the explosiveness of the rookies on special teams.  Javier Arenas returned 3 kickoffs for 59 yards (19.7 avg) and 2 punts for 60 yards (30.0 avg) setting up good field position for the Chiefs’ offense.  But, Dexter McCluster also returned 3 punts for 100 yards (33.3 avg) including an electrifying 94 yard return for a TD that really hurt the Chargers.  The Chiefs were lucky for the help from the special teams because the offense didn’t do a whole lot against the Chargers’ D.  Matt Cassel completed only 10 of 22 passes for 68 yards with 1 TD pass.  Jamaal Charles led the way on the ground for the Chiefs in this game with 11 carries for 92 yards (8.4 ypc).  One of Charles’ runs went for a 56-yard TD as he looked like a player on playstation due to all of the great moves he made to get to the end zone.  Thomas Jones pitched in with 11 carries for 39 yards (3.5 ypc) in this game.  Rookie TE Tony Moeaki was Cassel’s favorite target in the passing game as he caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg) with a TD.  The Chiefs finished up with 135 yards rushing on 26 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 22 passes for 62 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 22:32.

Linebacker Derrick Johnson led a good effort by the D with 12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and a key forced fumble.  Safety Eric Berry look up to the challenge in his NFL debut with 6 tackles.  DE Glenn Dorsey was all over the field last night with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1/2 a sack and 2 QB hits.  The Chargers finished up with 109 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 39 passes for 280 yards.  This was a huge win for the Chiefs!

The Chiefs were punished by the Chargers last season who swept them by a combined score of 80-21!  The Chiefs have gotten stronger over the off-season while the Chargers have lost a lot ot talent.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are likely going to come out running the ball against the Chargers, and why not?  Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones are the strength of the offense and the Chargers are a tad weak in the middle on D.  I also look for rookie RB/WR Dexter McCluster to make a couple of big plays in this game as his speed will be hard for the Chargers to match up with.  Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers will try to force the Chargers to stretch the defense and open up the middle for the running game.

When the Chargers have the ball:  Let’s fact it.  The Chiefs don’t have a lot of talent on D.  With that in mind I think they should blitz a lot on Sunday because if Philip Rivers has time to throw the ball he is going to have a very easy night.  Rookie free safety Eric Berry will get a good test in his NFL debut as he will have to deal with Antonio Gates quite a bit.  The front seven will have to handle the Chargers’ running game on their own or it’s going to be a long night.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 31, CHIEFS 27