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Talanoa Hufanga and Deommodore Lenoir celebrate an interception to clinch the win for San Francisco at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday NOV 13, 2022. (San Francisco 49ers)

by Marko Ukalovic

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It was a tail of two halves for the San Francisco 49ers.

Their defense shutout the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half as the offense did enough for a 22-16 comeback win on Sunday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

San Francisco has won two games in a row, both against the two Los Angeles teams, and are 3-3 coming off the bye week under head coach Kyle Shanahan’s reign. Los Angeles has lost two of its past three games, all against NFC opponents.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had a very efficient first half as he was 14 of 21 for 161 yards and a touchdown. Herbert opened the game with a seven play 75-yard drive that resulted in a 32-yard receiving touchdown to wide receiver DeAndre Carter.

Los Angeles (5-4) were without both of its star receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams; each have missed the past two games with injuries.

It was the first time all season long San Francisco’s offense had all of its players healthy on the field as Deebo Samuel and Elijah Mitchell returned from their respective injuries. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a full arsenal and spread the ball around efficiently and effectively.

“It was a fun win, it was fun to comeback out there with the boys,” said wide receiver Jauan Jennings on how excited the team was to have everybody back on the offensive side of the ball. “It’s just like, hey it’s a party man! It was a party except it was on the football field dog. So, I just had fun, I had a great time.”

San Francisco (5-4) went on a long 14 play drive in the first quarter that went 67 yards that ate up over seven minutes of possession. However, they had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Robbie Gould.

Garoppolo then led a nine play 75-yard drive on San Francisco’s fifth offensive possession late in the second quarter where he completed the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback sneak.

“I think it showed last week against the Rams, guys stepping up in different roles. It just showed again today, guys don’t care if they get 10 targets or one target, if we get a ‘W’, a ‘W’ is a ‘W’ and that is what we’re here for,” Garoppolo said.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who made his return after missing three weeks after being injured in the game against Kansas City, was ejected from the contest with 30 seconds left in the second quarter when he landed a controversial helmet to helmet on Herbert that was reviewed by the league before the officials dismissed him from the game for the unsportsmanlike play.

The 49ers defense bent but did not break in the first half as they held the Chargers to three Cameron Dicker field goals, including one when time expired in the second quarter to give Los Angeles a 16-10 lead into halftime.

“The second half, just like two weeks ago in our last game, defense hunkered down, they didn’t seem to make any mistakes, especially at the end with their (Los Angeles’) last two drives there, it was great,” Shanahan said.

San Francisco started the third quarter with another long drive, this time they went 12 plays and 67 yards with the same result as their long drive in the first a half, a Gould field goal from 26 yards.

Led by Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, San Francisco finally got pressure on Herbert in the second half and made him uncomfortable for the majority of the second half. They sacked Herbert three times in the second half.

“We just didn’t execute. We need to be better on third down and continuing to push the ball forward and getting first down but unfortunately, we didn’t do that today,” Herbert said.

San Francisco controlled the time possession 37 minutes to 23 as they ran for a season high 41 times accumulating 157 yards on the ground as they averaged 3.8 yards per carry.

The 49ers final long drive of the game gave them its first lead in the fourth quarter. San Francisco marched down the field on a 14 play 77-yard drive with a balance of rushing and passing plays. Brandon Aiyuk’s 24-yard reception set up Christian McCaffery’s two-yard rushing touchdown. Gould missed the extra point as San Francisco led 19-16 with 6:59 remaining in the game.

The 49ers defense did the rest and never allowed the Chargers to score another point. Safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Herbert on LA’s final drive to seal the deal as San Francisco sits a half game out of first place in the NFC West Division.

“We just went in and made some adjustments at half time, just continued to be physical and switched some things up. We just wanted to get after them up front and plat a little bit looser coverage on the back end and continue to force them to check the ball down and just rally to it,” Hufanga said.

Garoppolo finished 19 of 28 for 240 yards with only the one rushing touchdown but no interceptions. Mitchell led San Francisco in rushing in his first game back since the season opener with 89 yards on 18 carries. McCaffery chipped in with 38 yards on 14 carries to go along with his four receptions for 39 yards. Aiyuk led the 49ers in receiving with six catches for 84 yards.

Herbert ended up 21 of 35 for 196 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Star running back Austin Eckler was held to just 24 yards on just six carries. Carter led the Chargers in receiving with four catches for 64 yards.

GAME NOTES: San Francisco finished 9-for-17 on third down conversions. Los Angeles was 6-for-16.

San Francisco snapped its five-game losing streak to Los Angeles and tied the overall series record at 8-8. The 49ers are 4-3 against the Chargers at home.

UP NEXT: San Francisco heads south of the border to host the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football on 11/21 at 5:15pm at Azteca Stadium.

Christian McCaffery spikes the football after scoring one of his three touchdowns at SoFi Stadium on Sunday OCT 30, 2022. (San Francisco 49ers)

by Marko Ukalovic

Chistian McCaffery has made history in just nine days with his new team.

McCaffery scored a touchdown every which but loose as he led the San Francisco 49ers to a convincing 31-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium. In just his second game in a Niners uniform, he became the first running back in franchise history to throw, receive and run for a touchdown in the same game.

San Francisco evened their record to 4-4 as they rebounded from a blowout loss to Kansas City last week. Los Angeles followed their bye week with a loss as they fell to 3-4 on the season. The 49ers extended its regular season win streak to eight games against the Rams having swept the season series four years in a row.

It was a tale of two halves as Los Angeles had an answer on third down and San Francisco wasn’t able to get into a rhythm during the first half.

Los Angeles’ offense was on the field for the majority of the first quarter. They went on a long 17 play 88-yard drive that chewed up 9:21 off the clock. Quarterback Matthew Stafford finished off epic drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown where he dived into the right corner of the end zone. Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson each had three catches on the drive as Stafford was able to spread the ball around during the drive.

San Francisco were without wide receiver standout Deebo Samuel and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. The silver lining was that head coach Kyle Shanahan was able to utilize McCaffery in the offensive scheme.

San Francisco responded on their next drive with a six play 71-yard drive that resulted in McCaffery taking a pitch from quarterback Jimmy Garopollo and then throwing a pass to wide open Brandon Aiyuk for a 34-yard touchdown completion in just under three minutes.

“I think everyone knows how good of a player he is,” said Shanahan regarding McCaffery’s play. “I just like consistent he is. Under control of what he does. He’s a very much player. Even though he makes a lot of plays and stuff, the consistency of how he plays is I think a great guy to have for us.”

Stafford answered back as the Rams marched down the field with a nine play 75-yard drive when he connected with all-pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown completion.

Los Angeles was able to convent six of its first eight third down conversions as San Francisco’s defensive front was not able to get pressure on Stafford and allowed the Rams offense to pick up first down and keep drives alive.

The second half both the offense and defense came alive for San Francisco as McCaffery took over on the offensive side of the ball and Fred Warner took over on the defensive side.

The 49ers exercised a long drive of their own in third quarter when they went on a 11 play 88-yard drive to gain its first lead of the game. On a third and three, Garopollo threw a high ball down the right sideline where McCaffery jumped up to haul in a nine-yard touchdown reception to put San Francisco up 17-14 with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

McCaffery had 183 all-purpose yards with 94 on the ground on 18 carries, 55 receiving on eight catches and 34 through the air as he showed why the 49ers traded for him to add to their offensive arsenal.

“I think the biggest thing is coming out with a win and playing a second half like that too,” said McCaffery who downplayed his accomplishment. “I think the thing I’m most happy about is this whole team welcoming me with open arms. Especially the running back room, they just helped me all week and learn everything. I’m just proud to be a 49er and glad we got the win today.”

San Francisco’s defense dominated the fourth quarter not as they did not allow Los Angeles to score a point in the second half. They forced three 3-and-outs in the second half and never let Stafford establish the rhythm he had in the first half. Warner and Nick Bosa each sacked Stafford that resulted in punts.

“We made some adjustments coverage wise. I think just getting kind of more in third and more favorable down and distances, to be able to tee up and (get) more pressures on third down, I think that’s what made Stafford uncomfortable,” Warner said.

The 49ers went up 24-14 early in the fourth quarter on a six play 58-yard drive. McCaffery set up his third touchdown of the game, a one yard rushing touchdown) when he rushed up the middle for 24 yards to highlight the drive.

San Francisco sealed the deal when Garoppolo connected with tight end George Kittle with on a seven-yard touchdown reception with 6:41 left in the fourth quarter. The drive was set up with a Ross Dwelley 56-yard reception to the Rams 14-yard line.

Garopollo finished the afternoon with one of his most efficient games going 21 of 25 for 235 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a rating of 132.5. Aiyuk led the San Francisco in receiving six catches for 81 yards and one touchdown. Kittle chipped in three catches for 39 yards and one touchdown.

“I think that’s when the game is won in the beginning of the third quarter. We had a chance to come out and take advantage of that and guys did. We calmed down. We settled into our game plan. Guys just stuck with it and I think the results speak for themselves,” Garoppolo said.

Stafford went 22 of 33 for 187 yards with one touchdown no interceptions and a rating of 91.4. Kupp, who left the field with an undisclosed injury late in the game, led Los Angeles in receiving with eight catches for 79 yards and one touchdown. Allen Robinson chipped in with five catches for 55 yards.

GAME NOTES: San Francisco went 5-for-9 on third down conversions. Los Angeles was 8-for-13.

San Francisco held Los Angeles to 56 yards rushing.

Shanahan reported the 49ers didn’t suffer any injuries during the game.

UP NEXT: The 49ers have the bye next week and return to action on Sunday 11/13 when they host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football at Levi’s Stadium.

Juju Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce celebrate reaching the end zone during the Kansas City Cheifs 44-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday OCT 23, 2022. (Kansas City Cheifs)

by Marko Ukalovic

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In a battle of good offense versus good defense, offense won.

The Kansas City Chiefs offense scored 28 points in the second half en route to a convincing 44-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium.

San Francisco has two in a row and dropped to 3-4 on the season. Kansas City bounced back after a tough loss to the Buffalo Bills last week and entered their bye week at 5-2.

“You know 5-2 looks a lot better than 4-3,” said Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “I think it comes where we’ll look forward to getting a little bit healthier. I think this leads them into a nice positive week where they can have some recovery time.”

The game marked the debut for running back Christian McCaffery in a 49ers uniform. McCaffery was acquired late Thursday evening for four future draft picks. He started out well with two rushes for 19 yards. McCaffery finished with 38 yards on eight carries and added two receptions for 24 yards.

The day belonged to the Chiefs as they dominated both sides of the ball. On defense they took advantage of two returning offensive tackles for San Francisco who were playing less than 100% health wise. They consistently pressured quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and won the battle in the trenches in the second half.

On the offensive side of the ball, they made San Francisco’s high-ranking defense look subpar as they scored 28 of their 42 points in the second half as the 49ers had no answer trying to keep the high-ocatane offense out of the endzone.

It was the worst performance for San Francisco’s defense on the season, despite having defensive end Nick Bosa back in the lineup after recovering from a hamstring injury. They gave up over 500 yards of total offense and were undiscipline with motion penalties. They also failed to get off the field on two separate long third down conversions that led to touchdowns for Kansas City on both drives. A third and 11 was converted for a 57-yard reception by Marquez Valdez-Scantling with a deep throw down the field by quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Then a third and 20 was converted on a screen play to Jerick McKinnon for 34 yards.

“Whenever you play the best teams in the league, you want to show what you’re all about. I believe the 49ers are one of the best teams in the league, obviously one of the best defenses. So, for us coming off a loss against the bills, you don’t want to have two losses (in a row) heading into the bye week. So we knew this was an extremely important game. That bye week is a lot better when you’re coming off a win,” said Mahomes.

San Francisco actually started the game well in the first quarter. An interception by safety Talanoa Hufanga set up the 49ers first touchdown. Garoppolo connected with Ray-Ray McCloud for a nine-yard touchdown reception to give San Francisco a 10-0 lead with 6:29 left.

Kansas City started to find its groove as they answered back on their next drive. Mecole Hardman took a quick shovel pass from Mahomes and raced in for an eight-yard touchdown, the first of his three-touchdown day.

Hardman gave the Chiefs their first lead with 7:09 left in the second quarter when he rushed for a 25-yard touchdown for a 14-13 lead Kansas City went into halftime with.

San Francisco had a chance to regain the lead after Skyy Moore fumbled a punt return that the Sam Womack recovered at the Chiefs 12-yard line. However, the 49ers failed to capitalize as three plays later Garoppolo was intercepted in the end zone by Joshua Williams.

“You know that’s a good team,” said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan summarizing the game. “You know they’re going to make some big plays, but I thought the most frustrating thing was the spots we hurt ourselves. In that first half, some of the false starts that we had on offense, lining up in the neutral zone on defense. For us to have that false start on the field goal, I was obviously so excited because they muffed the punt the next time, but for us to have a turnover there was a real big mistake. Ended up being alright when they missed that field goal. We talked about some of that stuff at halftime. We come out, give up a huge kick return and then have a really stupid penalty to add 15 yards at the end of it. Those are the things that disappoint me the most.”

While San Francisco was getting field goals on their drives, Kansas City responded with touchdown drives. The opening kickoff in the second half had Isiah Pacheco return the ball for 48 yards. To make matters worse, Jauan Jennings hit Pacheco out of bounds tacking on another 15 yards with an unsportsman like penalty.

The Chiefs only needed three plays to score and extend their lead when running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for a 16-yard touchdown. After a San Francisco field goal, Kansas City marched back down the field on a nine play 75-yard drive finished off with a four-yard touchdown reception from Mahomes to Justin Watson.

San Francisco cut the deficit to 28-23 when Garoppolo connected with tight end George Kittle for a 15-yard touchdown reception where Kittle jumped up high to reel in the ball.

That was as close as the 49ers would get as the Chiefs sealed the deal by scoring the final 16 points on two touchdowns and a safety when Frank Clark sacked Garoppolo in the end zone.

Penalties, turnovers and missed opportunities were the combination of what became an embarrassing loss for San Francisco on their home turf in front of the Niners Faithful.

Mahomes finished a great afternoon going 25 of 34 for 423 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Hardman had 60 total yards to go alone with his touch rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. Juju Smith-Schuster led all wide outs in receiving with seven catches for 124 yards and one touchdown.

Garoppolo finished went 25 of 37 for 303 yards (the most he has thrown for this season) with two touchdown and one interception in what was a frustrating afternoon for the veteran quarterback. Jeff Wilson Jr led the 49ers in rushing with 54 yards on seven carries. Kittle was the leading receiver for San Francisco with six catches for 98 yards and one touchdown.

“I thought, especially early on in the first half, just getting those field goals instead of touchdowns, I thought that was a big difference. Just momentum and things like that, we knew going into this game that we had to score touchdowns and match with these guys, and we didn’t. And I think that with the combination of the turnovers and penalties, that’s the result you’re going to get,” Garoppolo said.

GAME NOTES: San Francisco finished 8-for-14 on third down conversions. Kansas City went 6-for-9.

The 49ers are now 1-20 when they enter the fourth trailing by three or more points.

Bosa recorded his seventh sack of the season in just the seventh game of the season. Bosa and Hall of Famer Bryant Young are the the last members of the 49ers to register seven or more sacks through the team’s first seven games.

McCloud’s touchdown reception was the first of his career.

It was the 11th time in Garoppolo’s career he has thrown for 300 plus yards in a game, his first since against the Los Angeles Rams on 1/9/22 (316 yards).

UP NEXT: San Francisco travels to Los Angeles to take on the Rams in an NFC West showdown on Sunday 10/30 at 1:25pm at SoFi Stadium.