KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A furious comeback by the San Francisco 49ers came up short as the Kansas City Chiefs came away with a 38-27 win in Week 3. The Chiefs offense was dominant on Sunday, scoring touchdowns on all five of its possessions in the first half. For all of the good and bad that took place at Arrowhead Stadium, the biggest news coming out of the game was Jimmy Garoppolo's knee injury that occurred late in the fourth quarter. Let's start there.
1. Garoppolo and the entire 49ers offense was marvelous in the second half. However, on San Francisco's final drive, Garoppolo injured himself on a scramble up the left sideline. It looked like the quarterback had an opportunity to run out of bounds, but instead Garoppolo opted to cut it back to try and get a few more yards. He took a big hit and went down injured. What's worse, the injury looked like it took place when Garoppolo made his cut. A non-contact knee injury could mean it's the worst-case scenario for the 49ers quarterback. Kyle Shanahan confirmed postgame that the 49ers fear it's an ACL injury for Garoppolo.
Before the injury, Garoppolo completed 20-of-30 pass attempts for 251 yards and two touchdowns. The first score was a 35-yarder to a wide open Kyle Juszczyk. The second was an 11-yard pass to Marquise Goodwin.
2. The defense had a tough afternoon at the office. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions and didn't punt until the third quarter. Patrick Mahomes threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns. Travis Kelce was a monster throughout, catching eight passes for 114 yards. Kareem Hunt added two 1-yard touchdown runs. Kansas City went 7-of-11 on third down and racked up 31 total first downs.
3. San Francisco's running game continued to roll, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Matt Breida ran for 90 yards on just 10 carries. Alfred Morris pitched in 67 yards on 14 carries. Conversely, the 49ers run defense held the Chiefs to just 2.8 yards per carry.
4. Penalties were a gigantic storyline throughout for San Francisco. The 49ers were flagged 14 times for 147 yards. Some were costly infractions that led to Kansas City's 35-point first half. Others were questionable at best, including an offensive pass interference call against Kyle Juszczyk that negated a George Kittle touchdown catch. Still, there's lots to clean up for the 49ers on this front.
5. The injury bug popped up again and again on Sunday. Before Garoppolo went down, Richard Sherman left the game with a calf injury in the second quarter and did not return. Adrian Colbert left the game with a hip injury and was replaced by D.J. Reed. Reuben Foster went down but came back a few plays later. Matt Breida looked to have a scary non-contact leg injury, but he returned as well. He said postgame that he hyperextended his knee.
