Brandon Aiyuk suffers a serious injury in the Francisco 49ers' recent loss

The last time star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers faced the Kansas City Chiefs, things didn't go smoothly.

San Francisco fell to Kansas City in the Super Bowl in February, losing 25-22 in overtime. Aiyuk, for his part, caught just three passes for 49 yards in the loss.

No one in San Francisco was willing to call Sunday's home game against the same Chiefs a revenge game. It is impossible to view a regular season game under this guise.

But the 49ers had to prove they were among the best in the NFL. They entered Sunday's game with a mediocre 3-3 record. Injuries and inconsistency were commonplace in Santa Clara. Both appeared again in an ugly 28-18 loss at Levi's Stadium.

Aiyuk suffered a serious knee injury after catching a ball between two Chiefs defenders late in the first half. He was immediately taken to the medical tent on the sideline and then taken to the locker room.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan largely confirmed what was feared after replays of the injury aired. The 49ers' head coach told reporters after Sunday's game that they initially assumed Aiyuk suffered a season-ending ACL tear. An MRI on Monday will finally confirm this diagnosis.

This came just months after the 49ers signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract extension following a protracted contract standoff between the two teams. This also comes after Aiyuk struggled a bit earlier in the season.

Needless to say, this is an absolutely massive blow to a 49ers team that is currently 3-4 on the season and could be seeing a spiral forward.

Before the game, it was also reported that fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel was ill. He took part in the pre-game warm-ups and tried to give it a try. But Samuel was excluded after taking part in less than a handful of plays.

These were great backdrops as the 49ers once again put in questionable performance in a season that has been littered with them.

Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers are struggling again with a loss to the Chiefs

Last Christmas, Purdy had the worst performance of his young career in an error-filled home loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The former seventh-round pick threw zero touchdowns compared to four interceptions in the 33-19 loss.

This game reminded me of that bad trip. From the start, Purdy felt uncomfortable in the pocket. He found it difficult to make progress with his reading. He was wrong on several passes.

It certainly didn't help that Aiyuk, Samuel and star running back Christian McCaffrey had to sit out. The same goes for underrated wide receiver Jauan Jennings. But in today's NFL, there's no room for excuses.

In the end, Purdy completed 17 of 31 passes for 212 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Two of Purdy's interceptions were clearly on the quarterback. The other pick involved a miscommunication between Purdy and embattled young wide receiver Ronnie Bell.

That was an absolute killer. The 49ers were able to take the lead. Instead, Kansas City got the ball back. It went on to drive 79 yards down the field for a touchdown and a two-score lead.

On San Francisco's next possession, Purdy led the team 65 yards down the field before being picked off in the end zone. Kansas City scored another touchdown on its next possession, effectively putting the game on ice.

Purdy took responsibility for his performance playing a role in the 49ers' recent loss. “I have to play better. It’s simple,” Purdy told reporters.

That is certainly an understatement. For the third-year quarterback this season, it was par for the course at times.

It wasn't all Purdy's fault. The 49ers defense missed several tackles in the open field. That included Patrick Mahomes making a career-high 33-yard run and San Francisco trying to gain momentum. There was a huge third down in the second half.

The 49ers' pass rush was all but nonexistent after Mahomes got two early sacks. This allowed the reigning Super Bowl MVP to make some absolutely amazing plays out of nothing. It was an all-too-common theme for Mahomes against these 49ers.

Where do the 49ers go from here?

At 3-4 this season, San Francisco is one game behind the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. His main rival in the division put in an outstanding performance on the road against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Before a timely bye in Week 9, San Francisco must host the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday. We're sure Dak Prescott and Co. will be ready to play in this game after their struggles against San Francisco in recent seasons.

Things don't get any easier after saying goodbye. That includes a brutal five-game stretch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the aforementioned Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills and the upstart Chicago Bears.

Things could really look up for the 49ers in the future. For many, it is similar to San Francisco's injury-plagued 2020 season, in which the team won six games amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The onus is on Shanahan to get his guys ready for next week's game. If they lost, this team would go into a bye at 3-5.

Brandon Aiyuk injury and what it means

Assuming Monday's MRI confirms a torn ACL, Aiyuk will miss the remainder of the season. The wide receiver's situation in San Francisco was already in question before Sunday's unfortunate events. Primarily a lack of depth.

With Aiyuk, Samuel and Jennings all sidelined on Sunday, Purdy had to rely on young players. Rookie first-round pick Ricky Pearsall made his debut against the Chiefs after being the victim of a shooting last August. He caught 3 of 5 targets for 21 yards. Fellow rookie Jacob Cowing delivered the biggest play of the day for the 49ers. It came via a 41-yard pass from Purdy.

The 49ers will obviously rely on these two moving forward. It also wouldn't be a surprise if general manager John Lynch picked up the phone to acquire a receiver before the NFL trade deadline on November 5th. However, a lot of this will depend on where the 49ers are in the standings.

There is no quick solution for the time being. The same goes for the 49ers as a whole after their recent poor showing against Kansas City.