SAN FRANCISCO - Lance Schulters knocked down the Kansas City Chiefs, and Charlie Garner ran over them.
Garner rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Schulters led an inspired defensive effort as the San Francisco 49ers snapped their five-game losing streak with a 21-7 win over Kansas City on Sunday.
Improbably, San Francisco's defense- the league's worst in six statistical categories - thoroughly dominated Kansas City's offense, which had scored 109 points in its last three games.
The Chiefs (5-5) gained just 107 yards in the first half and needed Donnell Bennett's 1-yard TD run with 6:27 left to avoid being shut out for the first time in 101 games.
Schulters, a Pro Bowl safety last year and the leader of the 49ers' league-worst secondary, made seven tackles and set the San Francisco defense's physical tone with two vicious hits on receivers Derrick Alexander and Sylvester Morris.
Both receivers were briefly knocked out of the game by the hits, and Schulters continued to play despite nerve problems in his neck and left leg. San Francisco held Kansas City to 290 total yards, and the offense that threw for a team-record 504 yards last week in Oakland couldn't penetrate the league's worst pass defense.
Meanwhile, the 49ers (3-8) moved the ball well on several clock-consuming drives. Jeff Garcia had another outstanding game, completing 20 of 25 passes for 244 yards and capping two second-quarter drives with short TD runs. Garner also had five catches for 39 yards receiving.
Elvis Grbac, making his return to the city where he spent his first four pro seasons, was wildly inaccurate and indecisive, finishing 22-of-40 for 271 yards after completing just six passes in the first half for Kansas City.
Grbac's first two passes were deflected at the line, and things got no better. He was sacked three times and threw a drive-killing interception in the second quarter.
Bryant Young and Brentson Buckner recorded big sacks in the fourth quarter, but Kansas City took advantage of two 49ers penalties to make a late 79-yard scoring drive.
While the defense starred, San Francisco's offense quietly went about its business, slowly churning out 288 total yards in the first half while scoring three times in the second quarter.
San Francisco broke a scoreless tie when J.J. Stokes' acrobatic 30-yard reception set up Garner's 1-yard plunge. The 49ers followed with two methodical drives that ate up nearly all of the quarter.
Garner did most of the work with 75 yards rushing in the first half, and Garcia capped both drives with TD scrambles of 2 and 1 yards as San Francisco held the ball for more than nine minutes.
