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Chiefs-49ers final score: 6 things we learned in Kansas City's 22-17 loss to San Francisco

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The Kansas City Chiefs drop to 2-3 after a 22-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.

By Joel Thorman
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Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs let one get away with a 22-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Alex Smith's interception with two minutes left sealed it. The Chiefs lost this game because of their own mistakes (and, yes, a little help from the refs).

Final stats are here.

Let's review what we learned in the Chiefs loss as they prepare for the bye.

The worst penalty of the season cost the Chiefs their best shot to win. The Chiefs stopped Frank Gore on third and one forcing a 49ers field goal attempt with 4:19 left. As the 49ers lined up for the field goal with the Chiefs trailing 19-17, the Chiefs, inexplicably, had 12 men on the field. That is a penalty and gave the 49ers a first down with four minutes left in the game, giving the 49ers the opportunity to take more than two minutes off the clock. Just a brutal time for a penalty for the Chiefs.

This is Harbaugh's reaction to the penalty:

The refs were not very good in this game. There were multiple calls that went against the Chiefs. The refs weren't personally against the Chiefs -- I'll take your conspiracy theories in the comments anyway -- but there were several questionable calls that hurt the Chiefs. The challenge on Colin Kaepernick's first down run comes to mind as does the personal foul on Jamaal Charles.

Andy Reid's play calling can be great. And it can be horrible. The Chiefs first drive was a clinic on play calling from Reid. The Chiefs looked terrific. But then the Chiefs got away from running the ball. They passed it on two third and one situations later in the game and failed on both. Don't the Chiefs have one of the best backfields in the game?

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Andy Reid on 12 men, fake punt, DAT

Joel Thorman

Must Reads

Andy Reid on 12 men, fake punt, DAT

The Chiefs run defense didn't play very well. Frank Gore is a great running back and the 49ers have a great offensive line. Gore is not mentioned among the greats all that often but he was great against the Chiefs. Whenever the 49ers needed a first down and the Chiefs needed a stop, Gore was picking up first downs. The 49ers ran for 150 yards on the day between Gore and Carlos Hyde.

DAT alert. De'Anthony Thomas, in his first NFL game, touched the ball twice -- 28-yard punt return and a 17-yard TD run. He should touch it more often. On the TD run, he was in the backfield with Jamaal Charles, which is just so fun to think about. See DAT run here.

I wish the Chiefs had a field goal kicker like Phil Dawson. He had two 50-plus yard field goals against the Chiefs. The Chiefs decided to punt from the 49ers 36-yard line instead of a 54-yard attempt. That's three potential points the Chiefs could have had if they had a kicker with more range. This isn't a knock on Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos as it is a compliment to Dawson, who was great for the 49ers. OK, it's a bit of a knock on Santos (who never had the chance to attempt that, by the way).

Observations from the game

The Chiefs first drive was excellent. They converted three third downs and Alex Smith hit 6 of 8 passes for 61 yards, which resulted in a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce. Who had Anthony Fasano and Junior Hemingway leading the Chiefs in the passing game after the first drive? Hemingway had a career-high 50 yards on the day.

One of my favorite plays in the game came when Smith evaded the pass rush and scrambled to the right. He drew the defender off the receiver and before he passed the line of scrimmage he threw it to Anthony Sherman for a first down. Smith was drilled on the play by Ahmad Brooks. Smith showed some serious play making ability there.

The Chiefs decided to go for a 4th and 1 from midfield but Ryan Harris jumped early and the Chiefs were penalized. That forced them to punt. That was a bad penalty because the Chiefs were moving the ball well.

Later, Andy Reid decided to punt from the 49ers 36-yard line (would've been 54-yard FG attempt). The NY Times fourth down bot would have gone for it.

The 49ers ran a reverse to Anquan Boldin, who pulled up and threw to Michael Crabtree, but it was incomplete. Boldin is a former quarterback.

The Chiefs have been doing a good job avoiding chunk plays but the 49ers hit a 39-yard pass to Brandon Lloyd (KC native). Lloyd later caught an amazing deep pass from Kaepernick.

Donald Stephenson did not start. Instead Ryan Harris did.

Andy Reid challenged one play but did not get it. Kaepernick ran for a first down and Reid challenged the spot of the ball because it appeared he might have stepped out before the first. But the refs ruled it was a first down. This was a huge play because the 49ers went on to score a touchdown.

49ers WR Stevie Johnson caught a touchdown pass where he jacked Marcus Cooper with his hand. Apparently that's legal. Also, Justin Houston was held. See below:

De'Anthony Thomas had a 28-yard punt return on his first NFL touch. His second touch was a 17-yard TD catch.

Jamaal Charles had a bizarre personal foul penalty. I still can't figure out what happened. Watch it here.

Dontari Poe is a monster, part 1,155.

Jamaal Charles passed Larry Johnson for second on the Chiefs all-time rushing list.

The 49ers ran a fake punt from their own 29-yard line to pick up the first down. Heck of a call from the 49ers.

Chris Owens collided with Phillip Gaines when trying to block a 49ers field goal. Both players walked off on their own.

Chiefs 2014 schedule

Week 1: Tennessee Titans (L 26-10)
Week 2: at Denver Broncos (L 24-17)
Week 3: at Miami Dolphins (W 34-15)
Week 4: New England Patriots (W 41-14)
Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers (L 22-17)
Week 6: ByeWeek 7: at San Diego Chargers (Oct. 19, 3:05 p.m., CBS)
Week 8: St. Louis Rams (Oct. 27, 12 p.m., Fox)
Week 9: New York Jets (Nov. 2, 12 p.m., CBS)
Week 10: at Buffalo Bills (Nov. 9, 12 p.m., CBS)
Week 11: Seattle Seahawks (Nov. 16, 12 p.m., Fox)
Week 12: at Oakland Raiders (Nov. 20, 7:25 p.m., NFLN) - TNF
Week 13: Denver Broncos (Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m., NBC) - SNF
Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals (Dec. 7, 3:05 p.m., CBS)
Week 15: Oakland Raiders (Dec. 14, 12 p.m, CBS)
Week 16: at Pittsburgh Steelers (Dec. 21, 12 p.m., CBS)
Week 17: San Diego Chargers (Dec. 28, 12 p.m., CBS)

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