Wednesday, October 8, 2014

49ers Kick their way to Victory vs Chiefs, 22-17

With the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, the buzz heading into the game should have been about Chiefs QB Alex Smith going toe to toe versus his former team for the first time since they drafted him number one overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. Instead, the headlines were focused on Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh who according to reports is no longer wanted in the 49er locker room which resulted in 49ers CEO and team owner Jed York coming to the aid of his head coach via Twitter where he tweeted just hours before Sunday's game, "Jim is my coach. We are trying to win a SB, not a personality or popularity contest. Anymore questions?"

And for the second consecutive game, coach Harbaugh's players came to the rescue on the field. But before the game had ended and players met at midfield to shake hands and exchange pleasantries, the Niners were hoping to add Alex Smith's name to the long list of QB's taken first overall that have lost in their first game vs the team which drafted them. But early on, it was Smith who took it to his former team as he marched the Kansas City offense 81 yards down the field for a successful drive ending with a 2-yard touchdown pass to his tight-end Travis Kelce. The man who replaced Smith as the starting quarterback in San Francisco, Colin Kaepernick, would respond with a scoring drive of his own as veteran kicker Phil Dawson connected with his first of five field goals, including two from beyond 50 yards in what would be a busy day at the office. Kaepernick's lone touchdown pass on the day would come just before the end of the first half as he found Stevie Johnson in the end zone for the second consecutive week to put his team ahead heading into the locker room, 13-10. 
The Chiefs would storm back on offense, opening the second half the same way they did the first -- with a touchdown, this time of the rushing variety as rookie running back De'Anthony Thomas took his only rushing attempt of the ballgame 17-yards to the house for a touchdown. Then came a trio of big plays for the 49ers in the fourth quarter, the first of which coming on a gutsy fourth and 1 call as Harbaugh elected to go with the fake punt on a direct snap to safety Craig Dahl who rushed up the middle for the first down. Several plays later, receiver Brandon Lloyd would come up with yet another acrobatic catch as he leaped into the air and came down with the ball for a 29-yard gain. After regaining the lead with another field goal, the 49ers were in position to improve their lead on what would've been a 54-yard field goal attempt with just over 4 minutes remaining in the fourth, but K.C. would be called for a crucial 12 men on the field penalty which gave San Francisco an automatic first down. The Niners would end up getting a field goal out of it anyway, but the penalty extended the drive and allowed the 49ers to burn another two minutes off the clock.

With just over two minutes remaining and no timeouts left, the ball was in the hands of Alex Smith who had a chance to mimic Joe Montana's game-winning drive in 1994 to beat the 49ers in his second season with the Chiefs and his first meeting versus San Francisco. But that would be too good to be true as Smith instead overthrew a pass on second and 10 that Niners cornerback Perrish Cox picked off for his third interception of the season, tying him for the league lead. From there, all the 49ers had to do was kneel the ball as the clock hit double-zero with San Francisco prevailing, 22-17. Running back Frank Gore totaled over 100-yards in rushing for the second straight game and the Niner defense managed to keep the speedy Jamaal Charles to 84 total yards on the afternoon. Kaepernick logged a turnover-free ballgame by throwing for 201 yards and a touchdown compared to Smith's 158 yards passing, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. And the San Francisco defense once again came through in the fourth quarter, shutting out the opposition. The win was also the first in five games for the Niners without their Pro Bowl tight-end Vernon Davis while under coach Harbaugh. 
Week 6 Preview: With back to back wins at home for the Niners, Colin Kaepernick and company will look to make it three straight as they hit the road to pay St. Louis a visit in an NFC Western Divisional showdown on Monday Night Football. With QB Sam Bradford out for the season for the (1-3) St. Louis Rams, the 49er defense will focus their attention on Austin Davis who rallied his team to three second half touchdowns in Week 5 @ Phillly and nearly pulled off a 27-point comeback before falling short, 34-28. As for San Francisco, coach Harbaugh and company will be keeping close tabs on TE Vernon Davis for a second consecutive week. One name that will without a doubt see action on Monday night is RB Frank Gore who has had some of his biggest games against the Rams including a 153-yard performance last season. Expect the 49ers to continue the trend in this one. 


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