SANTA CLARA — Did anything go right for the 49ers on Sunday?
It sure didn’t seem like it.
In the biggest game of the season — a game loaded with pretense from the San Francisco perspective — the Niners fell flat and were roundly beaten in all three phases of the game against the defending champions.
The Niners lost 28-18. It was close for a while, but the final scoreline flattered San Francisco.
Here were the studs and duds from the contest that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
STUDS 💪
Khalia Davis • DT
The 49ers were begging for someone, anyone, to step up at the defensive tackle position. Davis, activated this week after a preseason knee injury, did just that Sunday, making the biggest play of his NFL career in the first quarter. Davis took on a double-team but smartly put up his left hand on a Patrick Mahomes throw, batted the pass into the air, and caught it, giving the Niners the ball on their own 32-yard line. Sadly for the 49ers, it didn’t mean anything.
George Kittle • WR
The 49ers’ one, bonafide man-to-man beater at receiver, he became the No. 1 target after Deebo Samuel couldn’t play (illness) and Brandon Aiyuk injured his right knee. He finished with six catches for 92 yards.
Deommodore Lenoir • CB
It wasn’t just the interception but a steady stream of big-time plays — edge sets, run-game stops, and lockdowns in coverage. He was immense in a contest where nothing less would have been acceptable.
DUDS 📉
Brock Purdy • QB
It was a disaster of a game for the 49ers’ quarterback. No, he wasn’t protected. Yes, he was down his top three wide receivers. But still, three interceptions and a handful of total disconnect plays showed a flummoxed and intimidated quarterback. Worse yet, he knew what was coming — the Chiefs are very direct — but he couldn’t do anything against it.
Purdy finished 17-for-31 for 212 yards passing. He added 27 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground.
Many of those passing yards were in garbage time. That’s a foul stat line, but he was much, much worse than it indicates. This was arguably the worst game of Purdy’s career, and he’s had a couple of big-time duds.
Kyle Shanahan • HC
There were three highly questionable calls in this game, and while the final margin indicates different decisions wouldn’t have mattered, you never know how this game would have gone if the script was changed.
The first questionable decision was not to go for a fourth-and-1 on their own 41-yard line on the third drive of the first quarter. The Niners had not gained a first down to that point, and it was a momentum opportunity in the game. San Francisco punted, setting a tone for the rest of the game.
The second questionable decision was to run the ball on third-and-1 on the 5-yard line with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter and no timeouts. Jordan Mason was stuffed, and the Niners had to rush out to kick a field goal. The Niners kicked the ball off to start the second half, so to concede three points in that situation was strange. It was another passive move.
Then, when the Niners had a chance to tie the game following a third-quarter touchdown, Shanahan opted to kick a point after. Kicker Anders Carlson clanked it off the left upright. What would have been the benefit of making it?
Shanahan played the game as if he had the better team. It left the 49ers playing catch-up all contest. Clearly the head coach was wrong.
De’Vondre Campbell • LB
Kansas City attacked and attacked and attacked him. And it worked every time. Whether it was on an interior run, a pass, or a jet sweep, Andy Reid put a target on No. 59 and forced Niners coaches to do what should have been done weeks ago: put him on the bench.
Dee Winters • LB
To give some credit to the 49ers’ coaching staff, Campbell’s replacement, second-year linebacker Dee Winters, was equally poor on Sunday. The Chiefs didn’t stop attacking the weak-side linebackers when Campbell exited, and Winters did little to dissuade them, overrunning coverage, failing to set edges, and missing tackles in the open field — including a failure to push out Mahomes along the sideline after the Chiefs quarterback scrambled for a big second-down conversion, and then was able to keep running because Winters over-ran him and then failed to trip him.
In all, the 49ers linebackers, Fred Warner included, were exploited Sunday. Remember when the Niners’ offense was doing that to linebackers?
Ronnie Bell • WR
I’m sure the 49ers didn’t want to play Bell but were left with no choice but to put him on the field following injuries; he validated those beliefs.
Bell didn’t get two hands to drop on a game-changing pass like in Los Angeles, but he did run the wrong route, and Purdy threw it to where he should have been — directly to safety Chris Ronald-Wallace, who must have felt like the luckiest player on earth as the ball floated towards him. Kansas City drove 71 yards the other way to take a 21-12 fourth-quarter lead.
