49ers shut out Chargers in second half to gut out 22-16 win

After a shaky first half that left them trailing the underdog Los Angeles Chargers at halftime, the San Francisco 49ers put together a second-half shutout to come away with a hard-fought 22-16 win at Levi's Stadium on Sunday night.

The 49ers trailed 16-10 at the break due in part to a couple of costly first half mistakes, but they held the Chargers to just 52 yards in the second half while coming from behind to take the win. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo finished with 240 yards on 19-of-28 passing, while the 49ers finished with 41 total carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert finished with 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 21 of 35 passing.

First Half

Herbert and the Chargers opened the game with possession and took a quick lead on a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DeAndre Carter to cap a six-play, 75-yard drive. The Chargers converted two third down opportunities on the drive, then Herbert found Carter wide open to take the lead less than four minutes into the game.

The 49ers answered with a lengthy, efficient drive, albeit one that fell just short of the end zone. The drive spanned 67 yards in 14 plays, advancing to the Chargers' 2-yard line before running back Christian McCaffrey was stopped on a third down run. Kicker Robbie Gould finished the drive with a 20-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

The Chargers punted after six plays on their second possession but got the ball right back after a fumble by 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk was spun around by cornerback Asante Samuel on the play, during which safety Derwin James hit Aiyuk to jar the ball loose. The ball was recovered at the 49ers' 32-yard line by Samuel, but the Chargers failed to gain a first down after the fumble and were forced to settle for a 47-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker to give them a 10-3 lead.

Things slowed down a bit for the offenses after Dicker's field goal, with each team trading a three-and-out before the 49ers were held to a second consecutive three-and-out early in the second quarter. But the Chargers used that three-and-out to come up with an impact play on special teams, as linebacker Nick Niemann deflected the punt by Mitch Wishnowsky to give the Chargers possession at the 49ers' 46-yard line. The Chargers advanced inside the 10-yard line after the blocked punt but were held out of the end zone, settling instead for a 25-yard field goal from Dicker to extend their lead to 13-3.

The 49ers were able to cut into the lead on their next possession, which finished with their first touchdown of the game. The drive was kept alive early on a key 3rd-and-12 completion to tight end George Kittle, which was followed by a 33-yard completion to wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud to move the ball to the Chargers' 23-yard line. Garoppolo plowed into the end zone from one yard out five plays later to cut the lead to 13-10 with 1:57 remaining in the half.

The Chargers were able to add another field goal before the half due in part to a costly and controversial personal foul penalty on 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw. The Chargers faced a 3rd-and-6 from the 49ers' 40-yard line when Herbert ran for a 5-yard gain and had a helmet-to-helmet collision with Greenlaw, who was flagged for a 15-yard penalty and was ejected from the game. The drive stalled after Herbert was pulled from the game for precautionary reasons in favor of backup Chase Daniel, then Dicker connected from 40 yards out as time expired in the half to give the Chargers a 16-10 halftime lead.

The stat sheet was fairly even at the end of the first half, with the Chargers holding a 186-179-yard edge in yardage, a 9-8 edge in first downs while the 49ers held a slight edge in time of possession (15:21 to 14:39). But the big mistakes from the 49ers stood out, with their turnover and blocked punt leading to the two field goals that accounted for the difference on the scoreboard.

Second Half

The 49ers hit the ground running to start the second half by putting together a 12-play, 67-yard drive that saw them pass just once before reaching a 1st-and-Goal at the Chargers' 7-yard line. Their drive fizzled after that, with three consecutive pass plays falling short of the end zone. Gould connected on a 26-yard field goal to finish the drive and trim the Chargers' lead to 16-13.

The teams traded punts twice after the field goal, then the 49ers took over at their own 23-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter and churned out a 14-play, 77-yard drive that finished with a two-yard touchdown run from Christian McCaffrey to give them their first lead of the game. The 49ers used two catches from wide receiver Jauan Jennings to overcome a 2nd-and-20 after a holding penalty early in the drive, then leaned on the running game to move the ball deep into Chargers territory. The 49ers then faced a 3rd-and-10 from the 26-yard line when Garoppolo connected with Aiyuk for a 24-yard gain to the 2-yard line, then McCaffrey ran in to give the 49ers the lead with just under eight minutes to play. Gould missed the point after attempt, leaving the score at 19-16.

A three-and-out from the Chargers followed the touchdown, then the 49ers punted back the Chargers after a seven-play, 29-yard drive that ran the clock to 2:03 remaining in the game. The Chargers faced a long field after the 49ers downed the punt at the 1-yard line and wound up turning the ball over on downs on four plays, giving the 49ers the ball at the 8-yard line with 1:17 to play.

The Chargers still had all three of their timeouts when the 49ers took possession, which prevented the 49ers from running out the clock. The 49ers ran three consecutive running plays but were held out of the end zone and wound up adding a 20-yard field goal from Gould with one minute remaining to take a 22-16 lead. The Chargers took over at their own 23-yard line after the kickoff but the 49ers shut the door on the first play when safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Herbert near midfield to seal the win.

The 49ers moved to 5-4 on the season with the win, while the Chargers fell to 5-4 with the loss. The 49ers sit a half game back of the Seattle Seahawks (6-4) in the NFC West after the Seahawks fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Notes: The Chargers were a 7.5 underdog in tonight's game and entered into game with a five-game winning streak over the 49ers, with their last win being a 29-27 home victory on September 30, 2018. The 49ers won six straight over the Chargers from 1988 to 2000... The 49ers' win evened the all-time series record at 8-8... The 49ers will be back in primetime next week when they travel to Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to face the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT, ESPN). The Cardinals moved to 4-6 on the season with a win over the Los Angeles Rams (3-6) earlier today... The Chargers will also play in primetime next week when they host the Kansas City Chiefs (7-2) on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET/5:20 p.m. PT, NBC).