Kansas City Chiefs Beat San Francisco 49ers: Todd Haley Pulls Out Stops in Win

The Kansas City Chiefs used a big victory over the San Francisco 49ers to enter their bye week undefeated.

Sound crazy? Well, believe it.

The team that many analysts picked to finish last in the AFC West is now 3-0 and stands alone atop the division with its 31-10 win over San Francisco today.

The Chiefs piled up 457 yards of offense while giving up 251 to go into their bye week on a high note. 

"It was a great day for the Chiefs," linebacker Derrick Johnson said. "Each win, we're getting more and more confident."

Quite a contrast from the team’s recent history. The Chiefs, who won just 10 games over the previous three seasons, start off 3-0 for the first time in seven seasons.

The game was also somewhat refreshing for the team. Despite winning their first two games, the Chefs (amazing commercial) had struggled in many areas and were looked on with skepticism for “winning ugly.” Last week, at Cleveland, they failed to score an offensive touchdown. 

But today they shined and dominated in all facets of the game.

Matt Cassel, who had been scrutinized for poor play this season, completed 16 of 27 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns. Jamaal Charles continued to dazzle, gaining 97 yards while averaging 8.1 yards a carry. Rookie tight end Tony Moeaki drew comparisons to former Chief Tony Gonzalez when he made a one-handed stab in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

In total they had seven plays of 20 yards or more. Coming into the game they had three in their first two games.

Not to forget about the defense, which held 49ers running back Frank Gore to 2.9 yards a carry and pressured 49ers quarterback Alex Smith all day.

Two seasons ago the Chiefs set an NFL record for fewest sacks in one season since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule with 10. Last season they had 14, which was second to last in the league. Just in today’s game they had five and also forced an intentional grounding call.

The 49ers, on the other hand, dropped to 0-3, a cruel blow to a team that expected to compete for the NFC West title.

They struggled to sustain drives and shot themselves in the foot with preventable mistakes, punting on eight of their 12 offensive possessions, failing to convert a fourth down, and throwing an interception on two others. Their only touchdown came in junk time on the final play of the game.

As of now they’ve lost eight of their last nine games on the road.

"It is stunning because we have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, especially on offense," Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis said. "We have speed, we have guys that love to get after it. But like I said, we need an answer."

Davis was forced to eat his words. Earlier in the week he had said that not only did the 49ers need to beat the Chiefs, but “they would beat the Chiefs."

The game wasn’t without its gimmicks either. In the first half the Chiefs gambled by going for it on fourth down. First they ran their punt team on the field before running out their offense, forcing the 49ers to call a timeout. After the timeout they did the same thing, but the trick was sabotaged by the officials waiting for the TV timeout to end. Still, they ran a running play to versatile wide receiver Dexter McCluster, who picked up the first down.

Later they attempted an onside kick, which failed due to an offsides penalty, and ran a reverse pass out of the Wildcat formation in the second half, giving it back to Matt Cassel, lined up as a wide receiver, who found wide receiver Dwayne Bowe for a 45-yard touchdown.

Even though not all the plays worked the way he wanted them to, it was perhaps a sign that Todd Haley had added confidence in his team.

"I'm proud of the guys," said Haley, in his second season with the Chiefs. "They're just working hard every day to get a little better."

While they still have work to do, the stats are telling. Seventy-five percent of teams that start off 3-0 have made the playoffs since the playoffs expanded to 12 teams.

Suddenly games against Indianapolis and upstart Houston, which looked like losses glancing at the schedule in the preseason, look winnable. But the Chiefs aren't gloating or getting too cocky.

“Nobody is riding on a high horse,” Johnson said, “and we’re not sticking our chests out.  We’ve got a long way to go. We’re a humble group. We’ll fly under the radar and just win as many games as we can.”

Next challenge: at Indianapolis in two weeks.

Colin Lobdell is an alum of Kansas State University and a B/R Writing Intern. He resides in the Kansas City area.