With plenty of excitement in the air, the 49ers offense came out guns blazing, receiving the ball to start the game. After a first down pass to George Kittle who had his best game of the season (6 receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown), coincidentally on National Tight-End's Day, the 49ers and their fans got their first look at their newest offensive weapon on the field. Roars from the 49er faithful serenaded McCaffrey who got back to back touches on the opening possession and had carries of 10 and 9 yards right off the bat. It didn't matter if McCaffrey touched the ball or simply checked into the game, the welcoming cheers could be heard consistently each and every time his cleats met the turf on the playing field. Though San Francisco's hot start would eventually fizzle out as they made it inside the red zone and ultimately had to settle for a Robbie Gould field goal, the 49er offense would be right back at it just a few plays later as Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was picked off on his first pass of the afternoon. Young San Francisco standout safety Talanoa Hufanga who seems to come out with a game-changing play on almost a weekly basis, made his presence felt early as he forced the Mahomes interception. While it would be the second straight game with an opening-drive pick for Mahomes, it would be his lone mistake of the ballgame as he was virtually flawless for the rest of the contest.
Turning the early miscue into points, San Francisco made quick work of the prime field position, scoring just four plays later as 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo rolled to his right and hit Ray-Ray McCloud who made a diving catch to haul in his first-career touchdown reception. While the early trip to the end zone would give the Niners a quick 10-0 advantage, it would also wake up a sleeping giant in the Kansas City offense. Answering back with a touchdown of their own, Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman got his team on the board with an 8-yard touchdown. Following another Robbie Gould field goal, the Chiefs marched once more on offense with a Hardman again finding the end zone, this time from the ground after a 25-yard touchdown run. With the Chiefs taking a 14-13 lead, a strange and rather sloppy sequence of events would take place, starting with the 49ers who marched their way into field goal range.
Looking to recapture the lead, a costly false-start penalty on the offense knocked Gould back 5-yards and out of field goal range as they were forced to settle for a punt. Back to receive the punt was Chiefs rookie Skyy Moore who muffed the catch, giving the ball right back to the San Francisco offense. Looking to capitalize on the second-chance opportunity and at least head into halftime with a lead, Garoppolo instead returned the favor and gave the ball right back three plays later as he felt the pressure of a sack and lobbed a ball up to a crowd of players as Kansas City's Joshua Williams came away with the jump-ball interception. Looking to add to their own lead before opening the second half with the ball, Mahomes and the Chiefs offense marched into the red zone until a low-block penalty set them back 15 yards. Those yards would prove to be crucial as Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's lone field goal attempt on the day sailed wide right from 39 yards out, keeping the score at 14-13 entering the half.
With San Francisco boasting the league's number two scoring defense entering Sunday, the once formidable unit which has been banged up and riddled with injuries the last few weeks, looked like a shell of themselves in the second half. Opening the half with four consecutive touchdown-scoring drives, the Niners were unable to find an answer for Mahomes and company on defense. Kansas City would be in business to start the second half after a 48-yard kick return by Chiefs rookie Isiah Pacheco and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty tacked on, added to San Francisco's frustration on special-teams. The Chiefs would find the end zone just three plays later. While the Niners would answer with another field goal, K.C. again fired back with another trip to the end zone. Keeping the game close to start the fourth quarter, Garoppolo and the 49er offense embarked on their best drive yet.
Orchestrating a 13-play, 81-yard drive, Jimmy G hit George Kittle in the end zone for a jump-ball touchdown reception to make it a 28-23 ballgame. Sadly, that would be as close as the Niners would get as the rest of the scoring would come from the Chiefs. After allowing two more touchdowns and a safety, San Francisco's offense went stagnant as their final two possessions ended in a fumble and an interception. With the ballgame getting out of hand for the 49ers on the scoreboard, coach Shanahan would call on rookie quarterback Brock Purdy who was this year's Mr. Irrelevant as the final pick in April's Draft. Two big back-breaking plays for the 49er defense would come on a pair of third and longs as they gave up 34-yards on a screen pass to running back Jerick McKinnon on 3rd and 20, and another 57-yards on a deep pass to receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on 3rd and 11.
When it was all said and done, the 49ers fell to the Chiefs, 44-23, as San Francisco gave up their most points in a home game since a 45-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Candlestick Park on October 11, 2009. With a season-high 423 yards passing for Patrick Mahomes, the K.C. signal-caller also threw for 3 touchdowns and an interception on his way to logging his 56th career win, tying him for the most among quarterbacks in their first 70 starts since 1950. While receiver Mecole Hardman finished behind four other Chiefs in receiving yards on Sunday, he became the first receiver in the Super Bowl era with 2+ rushing touchdowns and 1+ receiving TD in a game. 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo had his most passing yards of the season with 303 to go along with a pair of touchdowns, but he also had a lost fumble and an interception as the 49ers were out-sacked by Kansas City's defense on Sunday: 5 to 1.
Week 8 Preview: Falling to 3-4 on the year following the lopsided loss, the 49ers find themselves trailing the Seattle Seahawks of all teams in the NFC West standings who are currently in first place at 4-3. A few things San Francisco has had working for them this season is their 2-0 mark against teams within the division, and another is their recent domination of the rival Los Angeles Rams. With seven straight regular season victories over L.A., the 49ers will try to make it eight straight against their rivals when they take a trip down south to SoFi Stadium in Week 8. Looking to avenge their 24-9 loss to the Niners at Levi's Stadium on Monday Night Football in Week 4, the Rams are coming off a BYE and have had plenty of time to prepare for the team that has had their number over the past 3+ seasons. Meanwhile, 49ers new running back Christian McCaffrey who saw limited action on Sunday due to his unfamiliarity with coach Shanahan's playbook, will have some time to get up to speed on the offense in preparation of facing the team that came close to acquiring him before he landed in SF. Other suitors who had reportedly shown interest in trading for CMC were the Broncos, Eagles and Bills. McCaffrey who tallied 38 rushing yards on 8 carries and 24 receiving yards on 2 receptions, should also get more plays on passing downs against the Rams as Niners fullback Kyle Juszczyk will miss a week after suffering a broken finger on Sunday.
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