VIDEO: NFL Network's Charley Casserly Breaks Down How Chiefs Can Stop 49ers' Rushing Attack

Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco 49ers grinded the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers into a fine paste with a heavy dose of their zone running game in the NFC Championship, which draws heavily from Mike Shanahan's offenses with the Denver Broncos. Charley Casserly, stepping into the role of defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs on NFL Network, outlined what the AFC champs need to do to slow down Raheem Mostert and that dangerous ground game. As long a the Chiefs keep setting the edge, manning cutback lanes, and resetting the line of scrimmage, they should be able to stop the 49ers.

Should.

If only Mike Pettine had thought of that!

Both Shanahans have made a living off of killing teams with zone and stretch runs like the Packers saw, and there haven't been many teams (if any at all) that have truly managed to shut it down.

The Chiefs, however, are coming off of a game in which they held NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry to just 69 yards after almost topping 200 against the Patriots and Ravens in back-to-back weeks. If any team can do it, why not Chris Jones and Kansas City?

If Steve Spagnuolo can instill the same fundamental principles of gap control and situational awareness that helped his Giants defenses take down Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, they should be able to blunt the 49ers running game enough to achieve glory themselves.