Chiefs’ inability to control the ball aided 49ers’ ground game in second half

All week, the Chiefs talked about the necessity of matching the physicality of the San Francisco 49ers’ physical, run-oriented offense.

And for a half, at least, the Chiefs did just that Sunday, holding the Niners to 65 yards on 13 carries while the offense spent nearly 17 minutes on the field compared with 13 for San Francisco.

But in the second half, the Chiefs’ offense could not sustain drives, which allowed the 49ers — who controlled the ball for 23 minutes compared to the Chiefs’ seven after the break — to rack up 27 more rushing attempts, more than double their first-half total, and 106 rushing yards in a 22-17 Chiefs loss.

“We should have done a lot better on the run in the second half,” said inside linebacker James-Michael Johnson, who finished with a game-high 11 tackles. “Bottom line, we could have done better in that department.”

It’s not like the Chiefs got completely gashed — San Francisco finished with 171 yards on 40 carries for a respectable 4.3 yards per carry — but the 49ers’ offensive line seemed to come up big when it really mattered, as five of their last six first-down conversions came via the run.

“We knew they were going to come out and pound the ball, that’s their type of offense, they like to run the ball,” said inside linebacker Josh Mauga, who finished with 10 tackles. “So it was a true test to the front seven, D-line and linebackers. (San Francisco) did a very good job.”

San Francisco fullback Bruce Miller said the 49ers made a concerted effort to keep the Chiefs on their toes with their offensive game plan.

“We tried to keep them off balance, which way we were going to attack,” Miller said. “I think we did a great job of doing that, cutting the defense and giving Frank (Gore) and Carlos (Hyde) lanes to run in.”

Gore, who rushed 18 times for 107 yards, and Hyde, who rushed 10 times for 43 yards, each had their moments late in the game. On the 49ers’ crucial second-to-last, 56-yard drive, which lasted five minutes and ended with a Phil Dawson field goal, Gore — who was largely missing in the 49ers’ offense prior to his 119-yard explosion against the Eagles last week — had first-down runs of 13 and 8 yards.

“That’s just Frank,” 49ers offensive guard Alex Boone said. “Everyone was trying to count him out (but) that’s classic Frank. He runs so hard and so well, a 100-yard day is like nothing.”

San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh was also pleased Hyde, a 2014 second-round pick who had a first-down run of 11 yards on the drive.

“Carlos was carrying the football really well,” Harbaugh said. “So, if you’ve got a hot hand, let that guy finish it out. He’s a tough runner.

“That’s what we were trying to get done — pick up some tough yards, drain the clock, keep the chains moving. Those guys were a great one-two punch.”

Not that moving the ball against the Chiefs, who did rack up seven tackles for loss, was easy, per se.

“We knew coming in that it was going to be a heck of a challenge,” left tackle Joe Staley said. “We have a lot of respect for their defense, especially their front five.”

But at the end of the day, that front five — and heck, the entire defense — was left wanting. Mauga, like Johnson, said he needs to see the game film to figure out exactly what happened but expressed optimism they’ll figure it out once they return from the bye week.

“We’ll get everything cleaned up,” Mauga said.

This story was originally published October 5, 2014 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ inability to control the ball aided 49ers’ ground game in second half."