The San Francisco 49ers’ underwhelming start to the season reached a low ebb on Sunday in a 44-23 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Buy 49ers TicketsSan Francisco was outgunned in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, Patrick Mahomes throwing for 423 yards and three touchdowns as Kansas City pulled away in the fourth quarter.
It was a chastening day for the defense and a game that delivered a reminder of the level the 49ers need to reach if they are to truly threaten to reach the Super Bowl.
Such an achievement seems a long way off after they dropped to 3-4 and here we look at six of the biggest issues that doomed the Niners to a deflating loss.
1
Third down defense
Simply put, the worst aspect of a rough day for the 49er defense.
The Chiefs went six of nine on third down, with two conversions particularly crushing for San Francisco.
Jerick McKinnon picked up 35 yards on a screen on 3rd and 20 to set up a touchdown that made it 28-16 to Kansas City and Mahomes found Marquez Valdes-Scantling for 57 yards on 3rd and 11 after the 49ers had cut it back to a one-score game. The Chiefs subsequently made it 35-23 and the Niners had no answer. These were unacceptable failings in a game where a couple of plays made the scoreline that much more emphatic.
2
Defensive indiscipline
Part of the reason the 49ers were unable to get off the field was a distinct lack of defensive discipline, which was always likely to be key to stopping Mahomes.
San Francisco had problems with the motion the Chiefs used, particularly when it involved Mecole Hardman, but more frustrating was the number of times Juju Smith-Schuster, Travis Kelce and Co. were left alone with seemingly the freedom of the field in which to run into.
The 49ers’ zone coverage is normally so precise, but it failed spectacularly on Sunday and the Chiefs had no problem taking advantage.
3
Pass rush kept quiet
It was far from the biggest problem for the 49er defense, but an inability to consistently affect Patrick Mahomes certainly contributed to San Francisco’s downfall.
Mahomes was hit only three times and sacked just once as a Kansas City offensive line not without its weaknesses won the battle up front.
4
Garoppolo under heavy fire
In contrast to Mahomes, Garoppolo took a lot of punishment from the Kansas City defense, which sacked him five times and hit him a further eight in a typically aggressive performance.
It’s fair to wonder whether starting offensive tackles Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey were fully healthy coming off injuries, and the latter endured a particularly rough afternoon trying in vain to prevent Chris Jones and Co. from disrupting his quarterback.
5
Missed opportunities on offense
There was always a decent chance the Chiefs’ offense would catch fire, so the Niners needed to take their chances to keep pace.
They did not do that. San Francisco got the Chiefs’ 12-yard-line on the opening drive and had to settle for a field goal and later got to the 24-yard-line and were again forced into a situation where they elected to kick.
Garoppolo tossed a crushing red zone interception on the final drive of the first half and the 49ers’ opening drive of the second half ended in three points. Too often the 49ers moved the ball only to see a drive stall through sacks and penalties, leaving them swapping field goals for Kansas City touchdowns in a trade-off that was never likely to end in victory.
6
Run defense woes
The 49ers’ run defense had been extremely stout prior to last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but it again struggled to contain the Chiefs’ ground game.
Kansas City averaged 5.3 yards per rush, with Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Mecole Hardman all finding joy running the ball.
The respect the 49ers had to pay to Mahomes and the pass certainly impacted the run defense, which allowed the Chiefs to average 0.23 Expected Points Added per play on rush attempts. This was truly a day where nothing worked on defense.
