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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Doug Farrar

Christian McCaffrey’s first-quarter fumble could have been a big deal, but wasn’t

The Kansas City Chiefs won the coin toss to start the Super Bowl, and perhaps they wished they hadn’t deferred. Immediately, the 49ers — mostly led by running back Christian McCaffrey — matriculated the ball down the field in ways that had to be disconcerting for Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

With 12:24 left in the first quarte, though, McCaffrey took the ball again, and this time, the structure of the game changed when linebacker Leo Chenal tackled McCaffrey, forcing a fumble at the Kansas City 29-yard line that edge-rusher George Karlaftis picked up.

However, the Chiefs went three-and-out on their subsequent drive.

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