Kansas City Chiefs: The 5 Toughest Opponents In 2014

Dec 1, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Patrick Willis (52) and inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman (53) react after Willis recorded a sack against the St. Louis Rams in the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park. The 49ers defeated the Rams 23-13. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

NUMBER 3: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

WHERE: New Candlestick Park, San Francisco CA

Alex Smith makes the return to his previous team for the first time since being traded to Kansas City. This game has one of the best of 2014 written all over it. The Chiefs were the most improved team in 2013 and San Francisco is a perennial power in the NFC since Jim Harbaugh took over in 2011. The 49ers have been to three-straight, NFC Championship games and Smith was the quarterback in one of them.

This game makes number three on my list because it’s definitely one of the hardest on the schedule. Not only do the Chiefs have to play a top three team in all of the league, but they have to do it in their new stadium, and in all likelihood, on Monday or Sunday Night Football. There are too many story lines for the NFL to just make this another Sunday afternoon game, and they know it.

Even Jim Harbaugh thinks it will be a “tough one” as he said in a recent interview with media when he visited a Kansas basketball practice. Harbaugh said,

"“Yeah, we’ve got Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs so that will be a tough one for us.”"

See, even he knows that this game has “big one” written all over it. It’ll be interesting to see when this one gets scheduled. I speculate it will be somewhere between weeks 4-8, because the teams will likely be healthiest, and incase one of them turns out not to be a contender. I cannot wait for this one.