KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs head into their bye week the same way they came out of their first regular-season game a month ago, limping.

Head coach Andy Reid gave his team the entire week off so they can lick their wounds from a 2-3 start, especially the 22-17 loss to San Francisco that was their game to win.

But the 49ers made the plays in the fourth quarter to win and the Chiefs made enough mistakes to lose.

Despite the losing record, quarterback Alex Smith says his team is headed in the right direction.

“I certainly think the last three or four weeks we’ve been heading in the right direction,” Smith said. “2-3 is not where we want to be heading into the bye week, but certainly I think there are things you can take from it.

“There’s a lot of room for improvement, but there are things we can continue to build on from the last three weeks.”

After starting 0-2 by losing to Tennessee and Denver, the Chiefs won back-to-back games against Miami and New England.

Then, came the five-point loss to the Niners, where the Chiefs led early in the fourth quarter, but were beaten on special teams for a fake punt and then a 12-man on the field penalty that pulled San Francisco’s field goal team off the field and the offense returned with a first-down gift.

Those two blunders in the kicking game helped produce only six points, with two of the five field goals from San Francisco’s Phil Dawson.

But the fake and penalty allowed the Niners to run most of the fourth quarter clock and left the Chiefs with no timeouts and no chance to pull off a comeback.

“We made mistakes, I think everybody saw that,” running back Jamaal Charles said. “It was a tough loss. We played well and to end the game on that note, with the penalty and mistakes, it definitely hurts.”

Reid expressed happiness with the resilience his team has shown through its tough start and the injuries that have stolen starters from the lineup.

“You’re dealt those cards,” Reid said. “Our guys are a tough bunch so they handled all that, never complained about it and just came out and played.

“I think that strength and some of the things that we’ve done and learned from the first five games are going to help us after the bye as we move on.”

Ahead on the schedule after the bye is another big road game, as the Chiefs travel to San Diego to face the Chargers on October 19. After playing at home only once in what will be a six-week period, they return for three out of four games at Arrowhead Stadium, starting on Oct. 26 against St. Louis.

After the Rams come the New York Jets and Seattle. The next road trip after going to Southern California will be to Buffalo on Nov. 9.

Five weeks into the season they are two games behind San Diego and Denver. After the bye week, they should get safety Eric Berry back from his ankle injury; he’s missed the last 14 quarters and another week of rehab is expected to get him on the field again.

After the game in San Diego, middle linebacker Joe Mays will have the opportunity to begin practicing; he’s been designated to return from the injured-reserve list after suffering a torn ligament in his wrist during the preseason.

Offensive tackle Donald Stephenson is back from his NFL suspension just as the offensive line has developed some continuity. Explosive rookie De’Anthony Thomas has finally gotten on the field, making contributions on offense and special teams.

“It’s important that we step back here and as coaches evaluate what we’re doing, look in the mirror first at what we’re doing and making sure we’re putting the players in the best position to make plays,” Reid said.

“It’s important that the players are getting a little time off here and that they use it wisely and rest up. We’ve got a couple nicks and bruises and we need to make sure we get those cleaned up, so when they come back (next) Monday they are ready to go.”

REPORT CARD VS. 49ERS

PASSING OFFENSE: C — Alex Smith was not sacked by the Niners, which is a big point to the good side for the Chiefs passing attack. But it wasn’t as if Smith was able to sit back in the pocket as long as he wanted.

Smith made sure he got the ball out quickly, although his accuracy was not what it was Monday night against New England. Six days later, he completed only 54.8 percent of his passes and averaged 5.6 yards per attempt, with two touchdowns and an interception.

It’s easy to see why the passing game has struggled a bit when Junior Hemingway is the team’s leading receiver with four catches for 50 yards. That’s no knock on Hemingway; it’s just that the guy with the most catches for the Chiefs should be Travis Kelce, Alex Fasano, Dwayne Bowe or Jamaal Charles. Bowe caught only three of the six passes thrown to him, Kelce had two catches in three targets, and Charles caught only one pass.

RUSHING OFFENSE: D — The running game was not what anybody expected in a game like Sunday’s. First, Knile Davis disappeared from the offense, getting two total touches for six yards. That shouldn’t happen for a back who has run for 100-plus yards in the previous two games. Jamaal Charles got loose once for 26 yards, but on his 14 other carries he gained only 54 yards, or 3.9 yards a run. Smith took off only once on the run and picked up six yards. The Chiefs needed more from their running game, especially after they gained the lead in the third quarter.

PASS DEFENSE: C — Overall, the Chiefs defense did a good job against quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his passing attack. First, they dropped him three times for sacks, forced him to run another six or seven times, and by the end of the game had eight hits on the Niners quarterback. San Francisco’s only touchdown came on a pass, as wide receiver Stevie Johnson used a swinging forearm to get away from cornerback Marcus Cooper and catch the nine-yard score. Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd had a big catch of 38 yards, but wide receiver Michael Crabtree was not a factor with only one catch.

RUSH DEFENSE: F — A team can’t go on the road and expect to win when allowing the home team 171 rushing yards. Early in the game, the Chiefs kept Frank Gore and rookie Carlos Hyde under wraps. But in the second half, the Niners committed to the run game and the Chiefs were unable to slow them down. It’s not like Kaepernick blew up the total with his yards, as he ran 10 times for 18 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F — This was not a good day for coordinator Dave Toub and the kicking game. The positive was a 28-yard punt return by rookie De’Anthony Thomas. Cairo Santos hit his only field goal attempt. But punter Dustin Colquitt had his first touchback of the season, and that dropped his net average to 35.3 yards. Then, there was San Francisco’s fake punt the Chiefs couldn’t stop and an inexcusable 12 men on the field penalty on a San Francisco field goal attempt that cost them time on the clock and all three timeouts. It killed the last chances the Chiefs had to make a comeback.

COACHING: D — There wasn’t much provided by the coaching staff in the second half when things got away from the Chiefs. For some reason, Andy Reid had his team throwing on third down all game, even on third-and-short plays. The disappearance of Davis didn’t make much sense. The offense got out of balance, finishing with 19 running plays compared to 31 passes. Defensively, the Chiefs kept San Francisco out of the end zone, but could not slow down the running attack of the Niners.