The 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs once again. It was a mistake-riddled display that sent the San Francisco spiraling in a 28-18 loss. They are now 3-4 and once again empty-handed in a game against Kansas City.
Here are three takeaways from the gut punch soul-crushing loss.
The endless questions, and Purdy failure
You can pinpoint a number of plays as back breakers. But there was a one-two punch of ineptitude that was particularly devastating.
One one side, with the 49ers down just two points, Ronnie Bell (likely) ran the wrong route, which turned into a third-down interception from Brock Purdy. On the ensuing drive, the 49ers had the Chiefs in a 2nd-and-7, and forced Patrick Mahomes to scramble. Or scamper. Whatever it is.
And Fred Warner, All-Pro player that he is, just couldn't get him down. Neither could Dee Winters. And Mahomes tiptoed down the sideline for a 33-yard gain to the 49ers' 4-yard line. The 49ers stopped the next three plays. But... unlike Kyle Shanahan (more on him below), Andy Reid left the Chiefs' offense on the field for fourth down and dialed up a QB draw. Mahomes scored to put the Chiefs up by nine.
For all intents and purposes, that sealed this game. San Francisco did get one opportunity to bounce back, and even worked it down to the red zone. But on a 3rd-and-5, George Karlaftis — who had Colton McKivitz's number in the Super Bowl — beat him with a slick spin move to hit Purdy as he threw. It became Purdy's third interception of the game.
Purdy struggled from the start in this game, and the lack of protection from the offensive line did not help. But he had to be excellent, and to protect the ball for the 49ers to win this game, and that was miles from being the case.
There were many, many other opportunities that the 49ers wasted in this game, but those sequences were the exemplars of their ineptitude. Oh, and Trent Williams got himself ejected for throwing a punch.
Now, the 49ers just face more questions. Will they ever be able to beat the Chiefs (signs point to no)? Can the 49ers make the playoffs? Will a Kyle Shanahan-coached team ever win a Super Bowl?
There are only questions.
Questionable Shanahan decisions versus Chiefs aggression
There were at least three decisions from Kyle Shanahan Sunday afternoon that were deserving of question at minimum, and ire at medium.
In a game, and a matchup in which Andy Reid pressed the issue constantly, Shanahan stayed conservative. Such is the source of much of the frustration directed his way. It will only ratchet up, and rightfully so.
In the first half, the 49ers had a 2nd-and-2 situation at their own 40-yard line. They ran it, got stuffed for a 1-yard gain, then ran again, got stuffed for no yards, and punted. With a weak interior line against a physical Chiefs front, it was a head-scratching situation.
Then, at the end of the first half, with no timeouts remaining and down 14-3, Shanahan dialed up a delayed run up the middle for Jordan Mason. He got stuffed and they rushed out the field goal team. Not throwing there, and not going for it were bizarre.
This was preceded, by the way, by Andy Reid calling a timeout when the 49ers had the ball.
But maybe the most confounding decision was being down 14-12 after a Purdy touchdown and going for the extra point instead of the two-point conversion. The 49ers were rightfully punished, with Anders Carlson yanking the extra point.
Reid put the nail in the coffin on that 4th-and-1 QB draw touchdown for Mahomes, who ran over Malik Mustapha (who had a great game, but got demolished on that play). The Chiefs are philosophically aggressive. The 49ers are conservative. There are plenty of reasons for the loss, but it's clear that aggression won out again.
Injuries: Hold your breath on Brandon Aiyuk
The 49ers went into this game with Deebo Samuel questionable with an illness. He didn't play Sunday.
Then Brandon Aiyuk, inside the two-minute warning, came up with a massive catch. But he took a shot from safety Chamarri Conner, and after limping off the field, had to be carted off. He was ruled out quickly with a knee injury.
Ricky Pearsall ended up having to play most of the snaps for the offense, and while he separated early, and had a couple catches on the final drive, it's no surprise that he looked gassed. He missed a call for him to motion before Purdy threw his final interception. It's clear that he was gassed, and he's going to take time to get right in this offense.
This team is aching and emotionally dented from this game. It's hard to see this team as a real Super Bowl contender at the moment.