The 49ers were driving to open Super Bowl LVIII, but Christian McCaffrey lost a fumble to end their first possession of the game.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s kickoff sailed into the end zone, so quarterback Brock Purdy and the 49ers took over on their own 25-yard-line. The Niners went right to running back Christian McCaffrey for a six-yard gain to open the drive and Purdy hit fullback Kyle Juszczyk with his first pass of the game for an 18-yard first down.
Purdy went back to the air on the next play and picked up 11 yards on a throw to McCaffrey. McCaffrey ran for 11 yards on the next play to move the ball to the Chiefs’ 30-yard-line.
That’s when things went bad, however. Linebacker Leo Chenal forced a McCaffrey fumble and George Karlaftis recovered to give the Chiefs the ball for the first time on their own 27-yard-line with 12:15 to play in the first quarter.