Through the first two weeks of this season, the Kansas City Chiefs gave up an average of 133 yards per game to opposing tight ends. They have since dropped that number to 44.3 yards per game. If you ask starting linebacker Nick Bolton what's going on against opposing tight ends, he'll point out that the team's main goal on defense this year has been to shut down the other team's best pass catcher.

“I think the game plan so far is that we take the best players away and take them somewhere else,” Bolton explained. “Up until that point it was just tight ends. So we just have to keep fighting…I have to find a way, get the ball out and ultimately make them take the long, hard way.”

Even though things have been going well on the tight end front in recent weeks, Bolton said the defense will face one of its toughest matchups of the season when Kansas City takes on the San Francisco 49ers and their star tight end George on Sunday Kittle starts in the afternoon.

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He’s a big matchup problem,” Bolton admitted. “He’s bigger than most safeties and faster than most linebackers. So we have to mix it up. Mix our matchups on that. Put some hands on him if we can and kind of mess him up and hopefully I can destroy him a little bit as the game goes on.”

The key to shutting down the 49ers, according to Bolton, is not just stopping Kittle, but also being out front in the trenches.

“We play a lot of teams that play open in the zone a lot and attack Chris (Jones) a little bit,” adding that he thought Jones played extremely well despite being constantly double-teamed. “I think he had a great first (half) until the bye week … he got guys going the other way – (but then he needs all four on the D-line, (and it). needs the) linebackers to set the pace, and Spags (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) kind of mixed up his playcalls so they can't really keep up on our fronts, and he was mixing different things and different looks.”

Bolton went on to say he won't let the fact that some of the 49ers' most important players are on the move lull him into a sense of false confidence.

“I think they’ve done a great job of using the guys they have and playing to their strengths. I think Mason did a great job,” he said of complementing San Francisco’s third running back. “As the weeks go by, they add more and more to his plate and get him more involved in the offense.”

Additionally, Bolton said the 49ers' running game sets up the passing game for quarterback Brock Purdy.

“The play action allows Brock Purdy to extend plays with his feet and look downfield when exposed to the play. So it will definitely be a challenge for us. It will be a four-quarter battle.”