49ers 22, Chiefs 17: Colin Kaepernick threw for 201 yards and a touchdown while Phil Dawson kicked five field goals as host San Francisco outlasted Kansas City.

Frank Gore rushed for 107 yards and Stevie Johnson hauled in a 9-yard scoring pass from Kaepernick as the 49ers (3-2) put together four scoring drives of at least 10 plays. Dawson connected from 31, 55, 52, 27 and 30 yards - the latter three coming after the Chiefs (2-3) took their last lead early in the third quarter.

Alex Smith, returning to San Francisco for the first time since he was traded following the 2012 season, finished 17-of-31 for 175 yards and two touchdowns but was picked off by Perrish Cox with 2:00 remaining to end it. Jamaal Charles rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries as Kansas City remained winless in San Francisco since 1971.

Rookie De'Anthony Thomas returned a punt 28 yards on the Chiefs' first possession of the third quarter before taking a swing pass from Smith and darting 17 yards down the left sideline to put Kansas City ahead 17-13. Dawson booted a 52-yarder on the ensuing possession before giving the 49ers the lead for good at 19-17 with a 27-yard kick with 8:42 to play - a drive kept alive when the 49ers converted a fake punt on fourth-and-1 at their own 29.

Kansas City put together a pair of long scoring drives on its first two possessions, culminating with Smith's 2-yard scoring pass to tight end Travis Kelce and Cairo Santos' 42-yard field goal. The 49ers countered with field goals of 31 and 55 yards by Dawson before Kaepernick capped a 13-play, 93-yard march with a scoring pass to Johnson with 31 seconds left in the half for a 13-10 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Gore (31 years, 144 days) became the oldest 49ers player since 1960 to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games, while Dawson moved past Jim Turner (1,439) and into sole possession of 22nd place on the NFL career scoring list with 1,452 points. ... Charles (6,018 yards) passed Larry Johnson and moved within 53 yards of overtaking Priest Holmes (6,070) as the franchise's career rushing leader. ... Jay Glazer of FOX Sports became the latest to weigh in on dissension in San Francisco's locker room, reporting that 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh will not return next season even if the team wins the Super Bowl. Team CEO Jed York defended Harbaugh on Twitter, posting: "Jim is my coach. We are trying to win a SB, not a personality or popularity contest. Any more questions?"