» 49ERS LOSE KILGORE TO KNEE INJURY
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers placed center Daniel Kilgore on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.
Kilgore injured a knee in the first half of the 49ers’ overtime loss to the New York Jets on Sunday after starting the first 13 games of the season. The news comes a day after the team lost Vance McDonald for the remaining three games with a shoulder injury.
Taking Kilgore’s place in the starting lineup will be 2014 third-round pick Marcus Martin.
Kilgore missed 14 games over the previous two seasons after suffering a fractured ankle midway through 2014, his first year as the starter. He appeared in the final five games last season after a lengthy recovery and started during the final three weeks.
Coach Chip Kelly was forced to play reserves at three positions along the offensive line for most of the game Sunday.
Left guard Zane Beadles slid to left tackle in place of Joe Staley, who was out with a hamstring injury. Andrew Tiller played left guard and Martin went from left guard, where he started the game, to center after Kilgore went down.
The 49ers had a seasonhigh 248 yards rushing, with 193 coming from Carlos Hyde, against New York. The Jets came into the game with the NFL’s fourthranked run defense.
“There were a little bit of communication issues at times just because Danny has such a command in terms of what we do,” Kelly said. “But, overall, I thought those guys for the amount of time that they had to practice there did a good job.”
Raiders RB says team focus is still on playoffs
ALAMEDA — Running back Latavius Murray isn’t concerned about the Oakland Raiders suffering through any type of hangover after their six-game winning streak ended last week in Kansas City.
With a chance to secure a playoff spot Sunday against San Diego, Murray said, the Raiders have moved on and are focused solely on the Chargers.
“We’re looking forward to everything that we have in front of us” Murray said Tuesday. “Our goals . they’re still right in front of us. That’s how we re-focus. We want to be playing postseason so we can give ourselves a chance to play for the big one. It starts Sunday.”
The 21-13 loss to the Chiefs dropped the Raiders out of sole possession of first place and into a tie with Kansas City in the AFC West.
More critically, Oakland fell from the No. 1 seed in the AFC to No. 5, meaning that unless the standings change the Raiders will be playing all of their postseason games on the road — provided they get there.
The breakdown is simple: A win against the Chargers and the Raiders (10-3) are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. A loss and they could still get in this week, though they’ll need help from a handful of other teams to do so.