Now heading into the final game of the season, Kittle is in a battle f

SANTA CLARA Daniel Sorensen Jersey , Calif. 鈥?Getting a Twitter follow from Travis Kelce was one of the major accomplishments this season for San Francisco 49ers second-year tight end George Kittle.or Kelce in a race for the most productive season ever for a tight end.Kelce goes into Kansas City’s season finale against Oakland with 1,274 yards receiving, the fourth-most ever for a tight end. He needs 54 yards against the Raiders to break the mark set by New England’s Rob Gronkowski in 2011.But Kelce might need more than that to hold off Kittle, who goes into San Francisco’s finale against the Los Angeles Rams with 1,228 yards on the season and a chance to pass not only Gronkowski but also Kelce with a big game.Kelce and Kittle have put up their huge numbers this season in very different ways. Kelce is more a downfield threat, with his average catch coming 7.5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, a number comparable to some of the most productive receivers in the league like Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas.Kittle does most of his work after the catch, gaining an average of 9.8 yards after making the catch 鈥?a number surpassed only by four running backs who make their average catch in the backfield.Kittle has 775 yards in all after the catch, trailing only Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey with 824. The only other players since at least 2010 with more yards after the catch in a season are Le’Veon Bell (816 in 2014) and Matt Forte (788 in 2014).“The thing he is doing better, that I can say he has done better than any tight end I have had, is what he is doing after the catch,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He does a good job beating man coverage, and does a good job in his routes and does a great job blocking. But when that ball is in the air, the play is just starting. He is trying to catch it. He runs angry and runs confidently, that he expects to score on every look.”Chiefs vs 49ers: Game and score predictions The Arrowhead Pride staff once again gets it right with 10 of the writers picking the Kansas City Chiefs over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Good job team.Moving forward, we are going to include the FanPulse predictions at the start of the article so readers can get a feel of how both fan bases are feeling regarding the upcoming game.It’s interesting to see that 49ers fans are predicting their team to lose by six points against Kansas City. You can sign up for AP FanPulse here to take the weekly survey. Let’s move on to the staff predictions:Shawn Barber, Chiefs 33-24Both The 49ers and Chiefs are getting very high RETURNS ON INVESTMENT (ROI).Breakdown of the perfect NFL QB : 33 percent mental processing speed. 33 percent arm strength and accuracy. 33 percent leadership skills. 1 percent good luck.Both Jimmy G. and Mahomes have strong to elite levels of QB moxie Harrison Butker Jersey , physical talent & 5G “high-speed” networks.Keys to the game:Slight advantage Chiefs: Patty Cakes’ ”immediate recall” of defensive pre-snap alignment is the key. This would give the Chiefs offensive coordinator the ability to adjust on the fly, after each play without going to sidelines for adjustments. This is a real problem for defensive coordinators. Not to mention who is being targeted: Cheetah, Zeus, Watkins and Hunt.Jimmy G has to deal with the Sea of Red’s crowd noise on the home opener.I can’t wait to feel Arrowhead Rock (since I will not be able to hear myself think) while the 49ers offense is at work.The X Factor: The 49ers have a host of high round picks and Ultra talented players of that defensive front 7 that can be a game changer on any Sunday.Mitchell, Buckner, Thomas, Armstead, Foster, Smith will be tougher matchups in the trenches than last week.Side note:”Roll Tide” fans will enjoy watch two impact players: Reggie Ragland and Reuben Foster49ers website shows team motto is Faithful Then, Faithful Now ...as Jarvis Landry stated numerous times on HardKnocks this season, “Bless ‘em.”This Sunday at Noon — the Sea of Red will “Bless ‘em.”Aaron Borgmann, Chiefs 35-27Costs of living are high in the Bay Area, so you have to overpay for everything. Seems to be the case with the football team as well. Jimmy G (137 million and a second round pick) + Soloman Thomas @#3 overall in last year’s draft and you could have simply had PMII in that spot for so much less. One more reason why KC>SF.John Dixon, Chiefs 42-24The 49ers haven’t won at Arrowhead since 1982, but it’s doubtful anyone in San Francisco has even noticed. Let’s just be grateful they aren’t going to be able to come to Arrowhead and shake hands with one of their former quarterbacks.Gary McKenzie, Chiefs 49-17The Chiefs offense should see a healthy number of blitzes to start the game. Unfortunately for the 49ers this will allow Hill, Kelce, Hunt Demarcus Robinson Jersey , and Watkins to rack up tons of yards after the catch.I don’t think the Chiefs defense is as bad as everyone says it is. The 49ers have had a difficult time protecting Jimmy Garoppolo over the first two games of the season. I believe the 49ers will get down early and Garoppolo will have to pass the ball continuously through the game.All the pass attempts will lead to mistakes, sacks, and turnovers. The last thing the 49ers want to do is become one dimensional, but the Chiefs force them to do that anyway and the game quickly turns into a complete disaster for the 49ers.Matt Lane, Chiefs 38-24Kyle Shanahan is an amazing offensive mind, right there with Andy Reid, and Jimmy G is a fantastic up-and-coming QB. They have the ability to give the Chiefs defense some fits, especially using TE George Kittle and FB Kyle Juszczyk. The three things that give KC’s defense hope: 1) being in Arrowhead for the home opener where the crowd will be rocking, 2) the SF OL and Jimmy G have been prone to giving up quick sacks and taking sacks when unnecessary, 3) outside the aforementioned weapons the 49ers playmakers aren’t the same caliber as LAC or Pitt making this the easiest matchup thus far.While the HC And QB combo in SF is really nice, it’s not Reid-Mahomes nice. KC’s offense looks absolutely amazing right now and based on what we’ve seen from the 49ers defense, there is no reason to think they are the team to shut them down. A rather static defense in the Seattle Cover mold, much like LAC, shouldn’t do much to confuse Mahomes. While DeForest Buckner is a stud he’s not the quickest winner as a pass rusher and the Chiefs pass pro been very good.On offense the Chiefs WRs have big days, Sammy finding the end zone with back to back 100+ yard games, while the athletic LBs (Foster and Warner) help quality Safeties hold Kelce in check.On defense the Chiefs should be able to play more man to man and land home with their pass rush a bit more often, resulting in a solid defensive output in Arrowhead. Dee Ford continues to impress beating up on rookie Mike McGlinchy and veteran Joe Staley.Low-key storyline: the nickname battle. Not only is Matt Brieda attempting (really, Breida?) to take “Cheetah” from Tyreek Sammy Watkins Jersey , but Golden “Showtime” Tate just played and was pretty solid vs. the 49ers. This week, the real “Cheetah” (Tyreek Hill) and Pat “Showtime” Mahomes will our GREAT numbers winning not only the game but their rightful nicknames.Matt Stagner, Chiefs 45-24I think we’re all waiting for Mahomes to slow down, but it might be another week. I actually think it’s Kareen Hunt’s turn to be featured, and the Chiefs will look to establish the ground game a bit more. That will limit Mahomes to a measly 3TDs or so, but Hunt will get 2, and the defense will get one. This isn’t a matchup to take lightly, the 9ers are improving... but the Arrowhead crowd will be rockin’ this week with the franchise QB in the house, they’ll win easily.Craig Stout, Chiefs 41-28The first regular season home game in Arrowhead for Pat Mahomes? This offense is gonna be clicking. Mahomes throws 3+ more TD’s to bolster his MVP-caliber season and the Chiefs get their ground game going, rushing for another 2 TD’s. The Niners offense will move the ball with increased tempo against the Chiefs slower personnel, but the pass rush finally gets home and the Chiefs keep them at arm’s length for the whole game.Kent Swanson, Chiefs 35-24The Chiefs will lose out on a top 10 moment of the decade if they don’t introduce the offense on Sunday.Chiefs Lent is nearing an end. The first time Mahomes has played in Arrowhead in over 40 days.This is going to be an offensive shootout. Take the over on points. Whatever it is. I’m predicting a pedestrian 3 TDs for Mahomes. Defense shows some promise, gets a few stops late to seal the deal.Pete Sweeney, Chiefs 49-42Shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs knocked off the Pittsburg Steelers, 42-37, I expectedly began receiving tweet notifications. For the second week in a row, I had picked the opposing team against the Chiefs incorrectly.While I would like to oblige your request and continue that trend Anthony Hitchens Jersey , I simply cannot. For the third week in a row, I am expecting a shootout for the Chiefs. But this time, at home, in front of a rocking crowd watching a game that feels like the most important game at Arrowhead Stadium since Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots, I can’t go against the home team. Let’s find out if I’m a jinx.Joel Thorman, Chiefs 28-24The Patrick Mahomes show comes back to Earth a little bit this week but still puts up 4 TDs. Watch how the Chiefs do against DeForest Buckner this week. Pressure from the defensive line can be hard to handle so it will be another good test for Mahomes.Aly Trost, Chiefs 48-31Offense will have no trouble getting up points early in an electric Arrowhead atmosphere. Mahomes will continue to shine with 4 TD passes. Jimmy Garoppolo and Matt Breida will shake up Chiefs’ inconsistent defense, but hey, the Lions pass rush had six sacks on Garoppolo last week, which sheds a glimmer of hope for the secondary. Dane Van Why, Chiefs 38-24The Chiefs make their triumphant return to Arrowhead on Sunday with a standing ovation for Patrick Mahomes. I think the offense dominates a 49ers defense who had some late trouble with Matthew Stafford and the Lions offense. The Chiefs defense will struggle to contain the hot hand of Matt Breida and I feel like the Jimmy G of old may make a return against Kansas City’s porous pass defense. In the end, the Chiefs give us another strong offensive performance and continue to leave us wondering if this offensive success is sustainable.All 12 of the AP staff members picked the Chiefs over the 49ers. Hopefully, that translates into a win on Sunday, pushing the Chiefs to a 3-0 record.What’s your prediction?