QB Niners Garoppolo may miss rest of year

K A NSA S CITY, MO.» The San Francisco 49ers fear quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss the rest of the season after sustaining an injury to the ACL in his left knee late in Sunday’s 3827 loss to Kansas City.

Garoppolo will have an MRI to confirm the severity of the injury, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said “we fear an ACL.” That would mean C.J. Beathard is in line to start at quarterback.

“I told him I’ll be praying for him and I love him, and he just told me to lead these guys,” Beathard said. “I’ve never been in that situation with something possibly that serious.”

Garoppolo was 20of30 for 251 yards with two touchdowns and no picks against the Chiefs, and he was at his best in trying to rally the 49ers late. But after driving in the fourth quarter, Garoppolo was flushed from the pocket and headed for the sideline.

He appeared to take an awkward step and his knee buckled, just as Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson delivered a shouldertoshoulder blow. Garoppolo wound up leaving on a cart.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes proved to be just as efficient at home as he is on the road.

After winning his first three starts, all away from Arrowhead Stadium, the secondyear pro finally made his regularseason home debut Sunday. Mahomes responded by torching San Francisco’s bangedup pass defense for 314 yards and three touchdowns.

Mahomes now has 13 touchdown passes without an interception, breaking the NFL record for TD passes in the first three weeks of a season. Peyton Manning threw 12 to start the 2013 campaign for the Broncos.