Chiefs @ 49ers
Final Score: Chiefs 44, 49ers 23
Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)
In a rematch of Super Bowl 54, the Kansas City Chiefs visited Santa Clara to play the 3-3 San Francisco 49ers. This was also the first game since the Niners acquired Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers. In a great defense vs. great offense battle, the latter proved to be too much in this game. This battle of potential Super Bowl contenders looked contentious through the first half, but much like in their Super Bowl matchup, the Chiefs found an opening and pulled away. The result was Kansas City Chiefs 44, San Francisco 49ers 23.
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes: 25/34, 423 Yards, 3 TD, INT, 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Chad Henne: 0/2 | 3 Carries, -3 Yards
J. WAT DOT.@patrickmahomes ➡️ @jwat05 pic.twitter.com/oFHi9qteSs
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 23, 2022
Patrick Mahomes had himself a day against the number-one-ranked scoring defense on Sunday. Scoring on seven of nine drives, all for touchdowns. Mahomes’ overall numbers were 25 for 34, 423 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The interception came on the very first drive, off a Tashaun Gibson tipped pass that Talanoa Hufanga picked off. After that turnover, Mahomes would go on to lead two out of three successful scoring drives. Mahomes utilized quick passes to neutralize the 49ers’ elite pass rush, and on the Chiefs’ second drive, he took a 3rd and one opportunity to dump off a pass to Travis Kelce in the flat, and the tight end took it for 27 yards. This led to a pop pass touchdown to Mecole Hardman for an 8-yard touchdown. On their third drive, the Chiefs and Mahomes stuck to the short game and completed four of five passes for 41 yards, setting up Hardman’s second touchdown. Their third drive started after the Chiefs’ defense picked off a pass on the goal line. Mahomes would then take the Chiefs downfield, throwing for chunk plays of 22, 40, and 19 yards, respectively. Unfortunately, this led to a missed field goal attempt but set the precedent that the Chiefs would take into the next half.
In the second half is when the Chiefs and Mahomes took over the game for good. They started out on the right side of the field after a 48-yard return by Isiah Pacheco and an unnecessary roughness penalty that tacked on 15 yards. Mahomes would hit Marquez Valdes Scantling for a 14-yard comeback, which set up Clyde Edwards-Helaire‘s rushing touchdown. On the next drive, Mahomes went five of seven for 76 yards, set up by a Jerick McKinnon effort 34-yard gain off a dump-off pass. This led to a Justin Watson 4-yard TD, which Watson just straight beat Jimmie Ward in coverage. On the next drive, Nick Bosa finally got to Mahomes, setting up a third and 11, but that didn’t stop Mahomie as he would toss a 57-yard ball to MVS, putting them into the red zone. In the final drive Mahomes was on the field he finished it with a TD to JuJu Smith Schuster for 45 yards. Overall this game was a great showing for Mahomes as he could handle the pressure of a good defensive line and used quick passes to tear apart man coverage.
Running Back
Isiah Pacheco: 8 Carries, 43 Yards
Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 6 Carries, 32 Yards, TD | 1 Target
Jerick McKinnon: 2 Carries, 12 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 36 Yards
even when CEH doesn’t start he still scores TDs pic.twitter.com/pNmkCa4qdN
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) October 23, 2022
Isiah Pacheco started this week and didn’t disappoint, carrying the ball eight times for 43 yards, averaging 5.3 a carry. Pacheco’s best overall play was his return to start the second half, going for 48 yards and getting a 15-yard penalty tacked on that set up a Clyde Edwards-Helaire touchdown. CEH had a quiet day outside of that 16-yard outside run that saw Helaire take the corner and easily trot upfield for a touchdown. Jerick McKinnon also played a big role in the game, getting a nice dump-off and taking it for 34 yards. Outside, he was a decent blocker with one bad chop block. This rushing attack will frustrate fantasy managers because they will not make anyone a prominent guy.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
JuJu Smith-Schuster: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 124 Yards, TD
Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 111 Yards
Travis Kelce: 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 98 Yards
Mecole Hardman: 2 Carries, 28 Yards, 2 TD | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 32 Yards, TD
Noah Gray: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Jody Fortson: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
Justin Watson: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 4 Yards, TD
Skyy Moore: 1 Target, 1 Fumble (Lost)
.@MecoleHardman4 has two TDs today! #ChiefsKingdom
📺: #KCvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/USkaudAkBK pic.twitter.com/IfeP1UawXU— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022
Somebody didn’t tell George Kittle that it was National Mecole Hardman Day. The one day of the year when Hardman is a fantasy god. Hardman had two on the ground and one designated as a pop pass forward. Overall, Hardman had a day using his speed to beat the forty-niners on the outside. Travis Kelce was the chunk play guy collecting big gains, like the 27-yard flat route that led to the Chiefs’ first touchdown. Kelce’s role was simply to be the safety valve. When nothing was open downfield, Kelce was open somewhere in the middle. Kelce did miss out on a TD on the first drive due to negating penalties, which reset the play. JuJu Smith Schuster was a beast out there and came alive on the final drive, catching two passes for 59 yards and a big YAC touchdown. JuJu could’ve easily had a second touchdown as well, if not for a Jerick McKinnon chop block penalty. Overall, JuJu looked good, breaking tackles and busting off big plays. If you’re doing fantasy football, you are happy that you have JuJu right now.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is showing up to be a big downfield threat for the Chiefs. His biggest play was a 57-yard catch downfield. The good thing about his value on this team going forward was that he was all over the field and ran many different routes. Going forward, you must love his potential “Tyreek” role in this offense. Justin Watson caught one of two targets, beating Jimmie Ward in the red zone on a slant for a touchdown. Overall this team had an amazing showing against one of the better defenses and made it look easy going downfield. The Chiefs might be getting hot.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo: 25/37, 303 Yards, 2 TD, INT | 2 Carries, 2 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)
Brock Purdy: 4/9, 66 Yards, INT | 1 Carry, -1 Yard
TD RAY RAY MCLOUD. What a play by Jimmy Garoppolo. #49ers #NFL https://t.co/MRMVDpfmvp
— 49ers & NFL News 24/7 (@49ersSportsTalk) October 23, 2022
Jimmy Garoppolo was good in this game, and outside of a bad pick in the endzone, he really didn’t mess up this game. Garoppolo started out strong on the first two drives hitting George Kittle and Deebo Samuel for 18 and 22-yard catches, respectively. Garoppolo would go on to throw a touchdown pass to Ray-Ray McCloud to put the Niners up 10-0. On the next drive, Garoppolo threw a dart to Brandon Aiyuk, who stretched a 10-yard pass into a 22-yard gain. Jimmy G also got Christian McCaffrey involved with a 12-yard catch and run, leading to a field goal. The Forty-Niners were then on the receiving end of a special team’s fumble that put the offense in the red zone. This led to the worst gameplay for Jimmy G. He threw a ball way too high to his shortest receiver (McCloud). The defender who was boxed out made the interception.
The second half for Garoppolo started off with a third and 10 conversion to Kyle Juszczyk for 17 yards. This would set up a field goal for the Niners, keeping them in the game. The next drive was Garoppolo’s best, as he went six of nine for 81 yards and a touchdown. It all fell off after this drive, as an offensive holding on special teams put the Niners on the 10-yard line. Jimmy G was sacked twice after this by Frank Clark, the last one in the endzone resulting in a safety. On the very next drive, he would get strip-sacked by Chris Jones, effectively ending the game. Brock Purdy made an appearance at the end of the game, taking the Niners’ second unit downfield before throwing an interception. Overall, Jimmy G was not protected well and still has a problem throwing passes was too high and giving defenders every opportunity to intercept. I will say that this loss is not on him, it’s a lot on this defense that couldn’t stop a damn thing the Chiefs threw at them.
Running Back
Jeff Wilson Jr.: 7 Carries, 54 Yards | 1 Target
Christian McCaffrey: 8 Carries, 38 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 24 Yards
Tyrion Davis-Price: 2 Carries, 4 Yards | 2 Targets
CMC in his #49ers Debut 🫡 pic.twitter.com/mvHEbyhSyA
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) October 23, 2022
Jeff Wilson Jr started off the game as the starter and ran the ball particularly well in this game, with 54 yards on seven carries. Wilson could’ve had an 18-yard run if not for a holding call on Trent Williams. Wilson was also due for a touchdown if he had caught the pass thrown at his hands just 15 yards out. Christian McCaffrey got 10 touches in this game, rushing for 38 yards and catching two passes for 24. He was much more effective on the outside runs and in space, but the Niners got away from the run game in the second half and didn’t seem ready to give McCaffrey the workload he had in Carolina as a receiver. It’ll be interesting to see the packages they scheme up for CMC in the coming weeks, but right now he just needs to learn the playbook.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
George Kittle: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 98 Yards, TD
Brandon Aiyuk: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 82 Yards
Ray-Ray McCloud III: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 65 Yards, TD
Deebo Samuel: 1 Carry, 2 Yards | 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 42 Yards
Kyle Juszczyk: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 34 Yards
Jauan Jennings: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 24 Yards
Danny Gray: 2 Targets
#49ers George Kittle making big plays on National TE Day!
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) October 23, 2022
It was National Tight End Day, and George Kittle took advantage of having Trent Williams back by becoming the team’s most reliable receiver. He was great out there, high pointing most of Jimmy G’s passes and catching a TD that could’ve been an INT with anyone else attempting to catch it. Brandon Aiyuk had his second straight 80-yard game on Sunday and is looking better as a separator this week. Aiyuk is a threat going forward and should be seen as someone you want to target in fantasy. Ray Ray McCloud III made an impact early, catching a touchdown on the team’s second drive while failing to catch a second at the end of the first half. McCloud got most of his work (three catches for 57 yards) on the team’s final drive.
Deebo Samuel looked neutralized the entire game. He came up with a few big catches but never really got going as an open-field threat. A lot of that was due to the Chiefs secondary tackling well. Kyle Juszczyk caught a big third-down pass for 17 yards. Jauan Jennings got some action at the end of the game but is most remembered for an unnecessary roughness play that put the Niners in a bad spot at the beginning of the second half. Overall this unit looks good, but it needs to evolve a little more if they’re to seriously make a run at the Super Bowl.