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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Lance Schulters has had enough of teams
picking on the San Francisco 49ers.
|  | | Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez felt the presence of 49ers safety Lance Schulters, who made seven tackles Sunday. |
With two devastating hits that set the tone for an improbably
dominant defensive performance, Schulters told the Kansas City
Chiefs that nothing would be easy at 3Com Park this week.
Charlie Garner rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and
Schulters led an inspired effort by the NFL's youngest, worst
defense as the San Francisco 49ers snapped their five-game losing
streak with a 21-7 win over Kansas City on Sunday.
"I was trying to be intimidating in the middle," Schulters
said. "You've got to let people know they can't come across the
middle and they can't push you around. We're not going to be soft
any more."
San Francisco's defense -- dead last in six statistical
categories -- thoroughly dominated Kansas City's offense, which had
scored 109 points in its last three games.
Schulters, a Pro Bowl safety last year and the leader of the
49ers' league-worst secondary, made seven tackles and set the San
Francisco defense's physical tone by flattening receivers Derrick
Alexander and Sylvester Morris.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Question on the 49ers: Is the 49ers' young defense starting to
mature?
Donahoe: The 49ers have to be pleased after holding the high-powered
Chiefs offense to seven points. The 49ers emphasized defense in the draft
last year, drafting cornerbacks Ahmed Plummer and Jason Webster, defensive end John Engelberger, linebacker Julian Peterson and safety John Keith. The 49ers coaches are
high on all these players and hope they mature quickly. Today's defensive
performance was impressive against a Chiefs' offense that has put up some
points this season.
Question on the Chiefs: What happened to the Chiefs' offense in San
Francisco?
Donahoe: The Chiefs could not get in any kind of rhythm offensively
today. They have struggled running the football often this season, and it
hurt them today. Elvis Grbac
had been on a record-shattering pace in recent weeks but was not sharp
today. But give the credit to some inspired play by the 49ers defense.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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Both receivers were briefly knocked out of the game by the hits,
and Schulters continued to play despite several bruises and pinched
nerves. San Francisco held Kansas City to 290 total yards, and the
offense that threw for a team-record 504 yards last week in Oakland
couldn't penetrate the Niners' pass defense.
"Our young players are coming along and (defensive coordinator
Jim Mora) has done a great job," 49ers coach Steve Mariucci said.
"We're not out of the woods by any means, but I'm proud of that
defense and what they did today."
The Chiefs (5-5) gained just 107 yards in the first half and
needed Donnell Bennett's 1-yard TD run with 6:27 left to avoid
being shut out for the first time in 101 regular-season games.
"It was one of those days that everybody has in their lives,"
said Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, who caught just four passes
for 46 yards. "There's no way to predict it, and I have no
explanation for it. Absolutely nothing worked."
Meanwhile, the 49ers (3-8) moved the ball well on several
clock-consuming drives. Jeff Garcia had another outstanding game,
completing 20 of 25 passes for 244 yards and capping two
second-quarter drives with short TD runs. Garner also had five
catches for 39 yards receiving.
"The past couple of weeks, we've had to get away from our game
plan early because we had fallen behind," Garcia said. "We were
able to stay in it today. I didn't feel like I did anything
special."
Elvis Grbac, making his return to the city where he spent his
first four pro seasons, was wildly inaccurate and indecisive,
finishing 22-of-40 for 271 yards after completing just six passes
in the first half for Kansas City.
Grbac's first two passes were deflected at the line, and things
got no better. He was sacked three times and threw a drive-killing
interception in the second quarter.
"Usually there's a big play that really sparks this team, and
we didn't have that," Grbac said. "Our rhythm was really off in
every sense."
Bryant Young and Brentson Buckner recorded big sacks in the
fourth quarter, but Kansas City took advantage of two 49ers
penalties to make a late 79-yard scoring drive.
While the defense starred, San Francisco's offense churned out
288 total yards in the first half while scoring three times in the
second quarter.
San Francisco broke a scoreless tie when J.J. Stokes' acrobatic
30-yard reception set up Garner's 1-yard plunge. The 49ers followed
with two methodical drives that ate up nearly all of the quarter.
Garner did most of the work with 75 yards rushing in the first
half, and Garcia capped both drives with TD scrambles of 2 and 1
yards as San Francisco held the ball for more than nine minutes.
Game notes
Terrell Owens, who nearly didn't play because of turf toe,
caught just one pass for 6 yards, extending his streak to 66 games
with at least one reception. ... In the third quarter, Gonzalez was
pushed out of bounds and into freelance photographer Mickey
Pfleger, 52, who hit his head on the ground. Pfleger suffered a
concussion, and he was placed on a stretcher and taken to the
hospital for further tests. ... Garner had his 11th career 100-yard
rushing game.
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ALSO SEE
Kansas City Clubhouse
San Francisco Clubhouse
Week 11 wrap-ups
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