The San Francisco 49ers were unable to overcome some "self-inflicted" wounds and a high powered Kansas City Chiefs offense to secure a win at home in Week 7. The loss is the first of the season at Levi's® Stadium and puts the 49ers at 3-4 on the year. With the Seattle Seahawks 37-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, San Francisco drops to the third spot in the NFC West rankings.
"You know that's a good team, they're going to make some big plays," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "But I thought the most frustrating things were the spots we hurt ourselves."
Here are seven takeaways from Sunday's game:
Ray-Ray McCloud III scores his first-career touchdown
The wideout hit a big milestone against Kansas City, scoring the first receiving touchdown of his four-year NFL career. His eight-yard reception was the first touchdown of the day for San Francisco and put the team up 10-0 early in the first quarter. McCloud III played the rest of his snaps on special teams.
Christian McCaffrey makes his debut for the red and gold
The 49ers newest player didn't have to wait long to suit up for San Francisco. The dual threat running back touched down in the The Bay just over 48 hours ago and took his first snaps on the opening drive of Sunday's contest. McCaffrey had eight carries for 38 yards and added another 24 yards through the air. Per Shanahan, McCaffrey had about 20 plays available to him given the timing of his trade and the limited amount of time he's had with the playbook.
"This was a weird week for me and for them," McCaffrey said. "I didn't know what to expect, but I had a certain list of plays that were up. For me, mentally, this was just focus on everything I can, control what I can control and get rolling."
Talanoa Hufanga picks up INT No. 3
The second-year safety returned to game action after clearing the league's concussion protocol. On Kansas City's opening drive, safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. tipped chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' pass, and Hufanga laid out to secure the pick. The interception marks the third of the season for the sophomore safety. He sustained a shoulder injury later in the first half but returned to the game.
Good as Gould
The veteran kicker was perfect in Week 7 against the Chiefs. Robbie Gould went 3-for-3 on field goals and sank his two extra point attempts. Gould showed off why he ranks eighth in NFL history with a 70 field goal percentage on field goal attempts of 50-or-more yards, hitting kick from 50 yards out.
Samuel Womack III delivers special teams gem
The rookie corner continues to make the most of his opportunities, recovering a muffed punt by Kansas City to set up San Francisco on the 12 yard line for their ensuing drive.
George Kittle tops his season's best on National Tight Ends Day
On a holiday dedicated to tight ends across the league, Kittle put together his best performance of the 2022 season thus far. The veteran tight end notched his first touchdown of the year and racked up six catches for 98 yards. He also recorded a season-long reception of 34 yards.
Nick Bosa adds to the sack count
The defensive end returned to action after sitting out of the team's Week 6 game and recorded a sack for a loss of six yards. The sack was Bosa's seventh of the season, and he now leads the league in that statistical category. Bosa closed out the day with four total tackles.
Penalties and turnovers stall the offense and hurt the defense
San Francisco lost the turnover battle for the second week in a row, giving up possession three times in addition to the safety at the start of the fourth quarter. In each of the team's victories this year, winning the turnover battle has been critical to San Francisco's success. The defense was able to notch an interception against the Chiefs and come up with a big special teams play on a recovered punt, but it wasn't enough to overcome the uphill battle the found themselves in for a large portion of the game. San Francisco also racked up eight penalties for 80 yards.
"Overall, we can't shoot ourselves in the foot," Kittle said. "I think we had four turnovers if you include the safety, so that's just not very good football."
