Five takeaways from the San Francisco 49ers preseason matchup against the Chiefs

Saturday night's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs felt almost like a regular season game for the San Francisco 49ers. The starters from both sides played essentially the entire first half in what was a great offensive battle. After what was a week long of criticism Jimmy Garoppolo shutdown the noise by performing exceptionally well. There was plenty to takeaway from this game, so let's start with one of them that is Garoppolo's performance.

Jimmy Garoppolo quells the overreacting critics

It isn't an unnatural thing for fans to overreact over a player's performance in a preseason game. However, it felt like almost everyone was overly critical of Jimmy Garoppolo's outing against the Denver Broncos last week. How are those critics feeling now following his performance against the Kansas City Chiefs? Garoppolo played the entire first half finishing with a stat line of 14/20, 188 yards, 1 TD. This game was just a perfect example as to why you should never take preseason performances at face value. The opening drive was a bit shaky, but after that it was a complete solid showing from Garoppolo.

You could tell that from the second series on he was cool, calm and collected. That he was back up to speed for a live action game. Much like his poor game against the Broncos, this game should not dealt over-emotionally. Once again, this is a preseason game. It was necessary for Garoppolo to have this moment to get him comfortable again. Even had he played badly again it should not have caused a dilemma. Regardless, Jimmy Garoppolo looks well conditioned and ready for the 49ers week one matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Nick Mullens is most assuredly the backup to Garoppolo

Kyle Shanahan has stated multiple times over that there was not a clear favorite as to who is winning the backup quarterback position. Given the fact that Mullens played the entire second half of the game he is most assuredly the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo. Mullens has looked the better quarterback, despite what Shanahan has said. CJ Beathard didn't even sniff the field, which is an indicator that Shanahan has known that Mullens would be the backup.

I would expect that Beathard will be the number three option at quarterback regardless of what happens in the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers. Shanahan will not field trade offers for Beathard despite what some people had believed. It's probably the right decision to keep three quarterbacks since the health of all three has been questionable. If it is set in stone, the 49ers will have made the right decision to have Nick Mullens as the primary backup.

Matt Breida looks like the better option at running back

The one-two punch of Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida has been long awaited since Coleman signed with the 49ers back in March. Coleman is presumably going to be the starter and receiver more of the snaps at running back. However, I'm not too sure that Breida isn't the better option to start at the position. Breida has looked impressive in the preseason and hogged all of the highlights against the Chiefs. His wheel route to the endzone that resulted in a score was a phenomenal catch.

Tevin Coleman is a talent, but Matt Breida just might be the better of the two. Even so, I don't see Kyle Shanahan giving Breida the starting label. It's really not even a big deal if he's starting or not because he is going to see a good portion of snaps. But he probably should be receiving more. Coleman hasn't been bad, but he hasn't shown anything either. This is something to keep an eye on once the regular season kicks off. Matt Breida could very well become the favorite option at running back for Kyle Shanahan in this offense.

Joe Staley could be declining

The last two games veteran left tackle Joe Staley has given up two awful sacks that is unbecoming of the Pro Bowl caliber player that he is. Against the Broncos, he completely let Bradley Chubb run through the line unscathed. The sack he let up in this game was just a dominant play by Frank Clark. Staley is supposed to be considered one of the best tackles in the game, yet he hasn't looked like it these last two games.

I don't want to make too much of this, but like the running back situation this is something to keep an eye on. If Staley is not able to play at a high level this season, then the 49ers will have a major issues. It cannot be overstated how critical it is for both Staley and Mike McGlinchey to be sound in pass protection. Without consistent, so many of Kyle Shanahan's will be blown up on sight. Hopefully Staley was just getting warm-up, but I would not rule out the possibility that he could be declining.

Jimmie Ward looked great in his return

In his first action of the preseason after breaking his collarbone, Jimmie Ward returned with a strong performance. It wasn't at his natural position at free safety, but at nickel corner. Tarvarius Moore stayed put at free safety since he has been locking down the position in Ward's absence. His absence just may have found a better role for him in the defense. Jimmie Ward could predominately be a slot corner for the 49ers. He is more than capable of playing there as he put on display in this game by staying with Tyreek Hill and forcing an offensive pass interference.

That was all against the Chiefs starting offense, which is a great indicator of his talent. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh may have found his new personnel group. He can always have Ward play back up top at safety when need be, but I think Moore has the better feel for taking angles. Ward's return is a great sign for the secondary who has been getting gashed this preseason. They have been in need of some experience to better solidify the group. Hopefully for Jimmie Ward he will finally have a healthy season for once.