K Art Carmody kicked a game-winning 25-yard field goal with no time remaining to lift the 49ers to a 27-24 comeback victory over the Chiefs in Kansas City.
The 49ers were behind 17-3 at halftime but managed to fight back and take a 24-17 lead with under 2 minutes left. Kansas City answered with the tying TD, but the 49ers used their powerful run game to set up Carmody with an easy kick. Carmody made up for an earlier miss by nailing the game-winner.
QB Alex Smith led the offense with 273 yards through the air and 2 TDs despite a rough first half. The Chiefs defense limited the 49ers to only 126 total yards of offense (only 31 passing) in the first half and intercepted Smith right before the half. Smith recovered and led the comeback, including throwing both TD passes to TE Vernon Davis. The first TD pass tied the game at 17 and the 2nd gave the 49ers a 24-17 lead. Davis led all receivers with 120 yards and the 2 TDs.
The run game was solid all game, but was extremely important down the stretch. RBs Frank Gore (155 rush yards) and Jamaal Charles (24 rush yards, TD) powered the 49ers final drive (10 plays, 59 yards - all runs) to put the team in field goal range. FB Jacob Hester added 15 yards rushing and also caught 5 passes as the 49ers accumulated 195 yards on the ground and nearly 450 overall.
Defensively, the 49ers allowed the Chiefs to dominate the time of possession in the first half and gave up 2 big pass TDs to QB Marc Bulger. The 2nd TD pass put the Chiefs up 17-3 with only 9 seconds left in the 1st half. The defense played stout in the 2nd half to allow the offense to comeback, despite a lapse in the 4th quarter that allowed the Chiefs to tie the game at 24. MLB Patrick Willis led the defense with 8 tackles and a sack, while DE Derrick Harvey added 6 tackles (2 for loss) and a sack. Harvey\'s sack already gave him 50 total for his very short career so far.
The 49ers improve to 7-1 and travel back home to welcome the division-rival Seattle Seahawks next week.
