49ers committing too many errors in 1st half vs. Chiefs

The 49ers got out to a 10-0 lead against the Chiefs in Week 7, but a series of miscues and mistakes have let Kansas City take the first-half lead.

The San Francisco 49ers knew they had to play a near-perfect game in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs and the No. 1-ranked offense.

Early on, it appeared as if the Niners would have that kind of standout game, especially with newly acquired running back Christian McCaffrey making an impressive debut with his new squad after being acquired from the Carolina Panthers earlier in the week.

However, San Francisco’s opening drive that featured McCaffrey rushing for 19 yards culminated in a mere field goal, and it doesn’t take much to understand that wouldn’t be enough against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Co.

Still, the 49ers managed to increase their lead to 10-0 after safety Talanoa Hufanga picked off Mahomes, and the Niners ended up converting that turnover into a touchdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud.

However, Mahomes got his gaffe out of the way early, and he subsequently led Kansas City on back-to-back touchdown drives to get the Chiefs out to a 14-13 lead following yet another Niners drive that stalled into a field goal.

And those won’t cut it against that top-ranked KC offense.

49ers make too many first-half mistakes vs. Chiefs

Penalties proved to be a major problem for both teams, yet San Francisco was flagged five times for 30 yards, whereas the Chiefs were hit with four for 45.

One of those 49ers penalties, a false start on a field-goal try at the two-minute mark on backup lineman Jaylon Moore, actually ended up benefiting the Niners in an odd way.

Pushing San Francisco out of field-goal range, the subsequent punt was muffed by Kansas City, and the 49ers recovered on the 12-yard line.

Read More: 49ers vs. Chiefs: Week 7 betting odds, how to watch

Only to have Garoppolo toss an ill-advised interception a few plays later, which led to the Chiefs driving all the way down the field before halftime and into the red zone despite running out of timeouts.

Fortunately for the 49ers, KC was hit with a touchdown-nullifying penalty that forced head coach Andy Reid to settle for a field-goal try that missed.

The Niners dodged a bullet there but won’t likely afford to make the same kind of mistakes in the second half.

Especially with the Chiefs set to receive the second-half kickoff.