Chiefs vs. 49ers: Full Report Card Grades for Kansas City
With all the positive vibes in Kansas City after the Chiefs dominated on Monday Night Football and while the Royals play as the best baseball team in the postseason, Kansas City sports fans finally saw that perfection come to an end as the Chiefs fell 22-17 to the 49ers on the road on Sunday.
The Chiefs started Sunday off with a bang, but the offense was quiet to finish the game.
Kansas City appeared to be on its way to dominating this contest after doing so as a team statistically in the first quarter. However, San Francisco slowly flipped the script and came out on top to finish the game.
It is time to hand out the final grades as the Chiefs fall to 2-3.
Quarterback
1 of 11
After kicking the game off with a 12-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, you thought the offense was on pace to have a great game. It turned out that touchdown was just the first of only two touchdowns.
Alex Smith was sharp to open up the game with 6-of-8 passing, only to finish 17-of-31 passing with 175 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Smith completed passes to eight different players, including four receptions each for Junior Hemingway and Anthony Fasano, as both have been quiet this year.
Smith had some woes of his own throughout the game. He had a chance to win the game during Kansas City’s final drive, but he overthrew Fasano as Perrish Cox came up with the interception to seal it for the 49ers.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 11
The Chiefs averaged 4.7 yards per carry but were only given 19 touches on the ground and finished with 90 yards.
Although he passed Larry Johnson and jumped to second for most rushing yards in franchise history, Jamaal Charles was quiet with 15 carries for 80 yards.
He only had one catch, but rookie De’Anthony Thomas shined in his debut. He caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and ran 24 yards to form a 17-yard catch-and-run touchdown play.
Knile Davis was quiet, but the Chiefs simply proved that on any given day, their running backs will flourish and make an impact—if the coaching staff gives them touches.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver
3 of 11
Junior Hemingway was a pleasant surprise as he caught four passes for 50 yards, equaling his season total going into Week 5.
Dwayne Bowe was behind Hemingway with three catches for 42 yards. A.J. Jenkins, who had one catch, was the third and last wide receiver to pull in a catch.
Kansas City is a team that relies more on its tight ends on offense. But even so, the Chiefs need to get more out of their receiving corps. Especially when the No. 1 wide receiver on the team is making $56 million in five years.
Nine catches for 95 yards from the receivers combined won’t get it done, and it keeps an offense away from being dynamic. The Chiefs have the players for a great offense and showed that last Monday against the Patriots.
Consistency has been an issue as the Chiefs offense has yet to come together.
Grade: C
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Tight End
4 of 11
Anthony Fasano had four catches, but three of them came on the opening drive. His other catch came later in the first half.
Travis Kelce’s day was the most surprising, as he was only targeted three times. He finished with two catches for 15 yards. However, he dropped a crucial pass on 3rd-and-1 at San Francisco’s 40-yard line.
The tight ends are a big strength for the Chiefs, but there was no evidence of that in San Francisco.
Grade: C-
Offensive Line
5 of 11
Whether it was protecting Smith, paving the way for Charles or trying to provide additional blocking for pass-catchers, the offensive line showed up and had its best game of the season.
Being tabbed as the culprit after allowing 13 sacks in four games, the O-line kept Smith’s jersey clean while helping the rushing game find 90 yards off 19 carries.
Eric Fisher looks more like a complete left tackle. Center Rodney Hudson came up big to help De'Anthony Thomas near the sideline, allowing him to stay in bounds and score the touchdown in the second half.
The offensive line was the biggest concern going into the regular season. Now, fans should feel comfortable with how it is performing.
The only major flaw from the O-line was Ryan Harris committing a false start penalty when the Chiefs wanted to go for it on 4th-and-1.
Grade: A
Defensive Line
6 of 11
Kansas City’s front seven is always the key in trying to help the team pull out a win. Early in the game, the front seven had no pressure in the first half but got into a rhythm early in the third quarter.
Dontari Poe and Allen Bailey invaded the pocket, forcing Colin Kaepernick to get rid of the ball sooner than he wanted to.
However, San Francisco’s offensive line got the best of Kansas City’s defensive line when the 49ers ran the ball.
Grade: B-
Linebacker
7 of 11
Like the defensive line, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston had trouble getting to Kaepernick early. Eventually, Hali provided a couple of quarterback pressures, and Houston had a sack and tackled Kaepernick for a loss on back-to-back plays.
With Derrick Johnson and Joe Mays out, James-Michael Johnson and Josh Mauga have been lights-out for the Chiefs. Both inside linebackers led the team in tackles, as Johnson had 11 and Mauga collected 10.
Even with a couple of defects, the linebackers continue to be the team’s best position group on defense.
Grade: A-
Secondary
8 of 11
The 49ers were without tight end Vernon Davis, but that didn’t hold them back in the passing game. Kaepernick hooked up with his receivers a couple of times on big plays, including a big circus catch by Brandon Lloyd.
The defensive backs missed out on some big opportunities, starting early when Ron Parker could not come through on a near interception. Had he held on and stayed on his feet, he would have run for a pick-six and given the Chiefs a 14-0 lead.
Stevie Johnson created separation when Marcus Cooper defended him in the end zone, allowing Kaepernick to take advantage and get the easy touchdown pass.
It is no secret the Chiefs are thin with their defensive backs and hope Eric Berry can return to help the unit. But that does not appear to be the case anytime soon.
Grade: D
Special Teams
9 of 11
With special teams coordinator Dave Toub, Kansas City generally does well on special teams. But today was a bad day for Toub’s unit.
The Chiefs were called for 12 men on the field on fourth down during San Francisco’s field-goal setup, translating into a first down for the 49ers.
The special teams defense struggled to field Dustin Colquitt’s punt inside the five in the second half. Failing to keep it inside the five resulted in Colquitt’s first touchback of the season.
With Cairo Santos improving and De’Anthony Thomas back, fans can hope the unit will put this game behind and do better moving forward.
Grade: C-
Coaching
10 of 11
Andy Reid is getting a lot of criticism for not running the ball against the 49ers, especially in 3rd-and-short situations.
It is understandable for Reid to want to pass instead of run on short-yardage situations in order to avoid the obvious and get the 49ers defense by surprise. However, running the ball 19 times is another story.
We all remember when Reid admitted he was negligent for not giving Charles the ball in Week 1 against Tennessee. Perhaps he was negligent, again, in this game.
The Chiefs came off a dominant game in which Charles and Davis combined for 199 yards, as Davis rushed for 100 yards in two straight games. San Francisco is good against the run, but Reid surprisingly held back and had a different game plan.
Grade: D
Overall
11 of 11
QB: B-
RB: A
WR: C
TE: C-
OL: A
DL: B-
LB: A-
DB: D
ST: C-
Coaching: D
Cumulative: C
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