The 49ers lost to the Chiefs. There is a time and a place for this.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan warned that the trade for running back Christian McCaffrey wasn't going to single-handedly get them a title.
Lynch said that McCaffrey wasn't a "magic pill" and that the other things we're missing are also missing. For it all to work, others will have to step up as well.
The 49ers received that memo loud and clear when the Kansas City Chiefs destroyed them 44-23 on Sunday.
On 48 hours' notice, he was given a limited workload, playing 21 snaps and finishing with 38 yards on eight carries and two catches. The Niners turned the ball over three times, committed 10 penalties for 80 yards, were 2-of-5 in the red zone and yielded 9.1 yards per play, the most their defense has given up in a game, despite the fact that they didn't have a lot of time to absorb
George Kittle said that he is going to help the team. "These next two weeks are going to be huge for Christian to understand our offense and be comfortable out there not to think at all, because that's what he's really good at." We have to be better than giving up big plays on defense. Today, we were not. You lose football games by that.
After arriving in the Bay Area on Friday morning, he joined the team's practice the next day so the trade could be finalized. He spent the rest of Friday and all of Saturday working to understand the offense, even though nobody was sure if he would play against the Chiefs.
The Niners were comfortable enough with what he learned to put in about 20 plays for McCaffrey and make him the backup to Jeff Wilson Jr.
He credited his teammates and coaches for helping him get up to speed quickly enough to contribute.
This was a strange week for me and for them. I was not sure what to expect. I know that I have a list of plays that I want to play, but for me it was just focus on everything I can, control what I can, and get rolling. I'm still getting to know these guys despite the fact that I lost. I have to fulfill my duty. I need to make a few more plays.
The Niners were able to move the ball regardless of whether or not the player was in. The Niners averaged over six yards per play when they had a player on the field and less than four yards per play when he wasn't.
The 49ers finished with almost 500 yards of offense, but they couldn't keep up with the high-flying Kansas City offense. They moved the ball inside the Chiefs' 35 times in the first half and only managed to score one touchdown.
"We need to play better football." There were some plays where I thought we had some opportunities and we didn't do well, but I think it went in all three phases. We have good players, but we need to play better to take advantage of that.
After the sprint to Sunday, he will have his first full week with the Niners. One of the keys will be teaching him how to protect himself. Timing with his blockers in the team's outside zone heavy run scheme is what he needs to figure out.
Before he left for his next study session, he made it clear that nobody would be waiting for him to catch up.
He said that football is a sport. If I've been here since April or if I got here two days ago, that doesn't matter. I'm sure my teammates and coaches expect me to be prepared if I'm on the field. It's not possible to say you haven't had a lot of time. You have to be prepared to go.
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