SAN FRANCISCO 49ers defenders suffocate Chiefs

San Francisco limited Kansas City to 256 yards of offense.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Julian Peterson figured it was time for San Francisco's defense to contribute something besides cheerleading to the 49ers' outstanding start.
Led by Peterson's suffocating defense on All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez, the 49ers held Kansas City's top-ranked offense to 256 total yards in a 17-13 victory Sunday.
The Niners (7-2) limited NFL rushing leader Priest Holmes to 51 yards, and Gonzalez had just one catch for 6 yards. Kansas City's last drive ended appropriately, with Peterson making a difficult deflection of Trent Green's pass intended for Gonzalez deep in San Francisco territory.
"I was just happy I got to make a play to win us a game, because our offense has been dominant this year," said Peterson, a third-year linebacker. "We've done a lot of standing around this season, watching them run it up on some teams. We had a chance today, and we got it done."
Second-half shutout
Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow each rushed for a touchdown as San Francisco won for the sixth time in seven games despite managing just 323 total yards of offense and getting shut out in the second half by the NFL's 32nd-ranked defense.
The Niners grabbed another victory with the defensive precision and quick adjustments they've been lacking most of the year. What's more, they did it against the Chiefs (4-5), who led the league in scoring.
"It was a dominant game," 49ers linebacker Derek Smith said. "They struggled, but they struggled because we played good. When you have a performance like that, it's not one player. It's everybody."
Peterson, the 49ers' fleet-footed third-year linebacker, drew one of the toughest chores: man-to-man coverage of Gonzalez, the Chiefs' All-Pro tight end. No problem, Peterson told his coaches all week long -- and then he backed up his words with the biggest game of his career.
Niners defensive coordinator Jim Mora figured it was his unit's turn to win one after the offense held the ball for more than 15 straight minutes to end last week's overtime victory over the Raiders.
Possession advantage
San Francisco did it again on Sunday, holding the ball for more than 38 minutes -- and the defense took care of the rest.
"We couldn't get them off the field," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. "They ate up the clock. I'm sure they wanted to do that because of our high-powered offense. We were not high powered today.
"We were not the best offense in football," Vermeil said. "We couldn't beat Jones Junior High today."
Holmes still scored his league-leading 16th touchdown on a 12-yard run in the second quarter.
The dull game on a wet field didn't exactly showcase two of the NFL's top four offenses. The second half was dreadful until the final seconds, with the teams combining for three points and six punts.
After San Francisco chewed up more than five minutes with a drive late in the fourth quarter, Kansas City got the ball back at its 11 with two minutes remaining. The Chiefs moved 52 yards with three long passes to Eddie Kennison in 16 seconds, but the 49ers changed defenses on the fly.
It worked. Green got sacked by Chike Okeafor and threw three incomplete passes, with Peterson batting down the clincher.