The San Francisco 49ers, eventually, showed how much they value Brandon Aiyuk shortly before the start of the season by making him one of the highest-paid receivers in football.

Now they will have to cope without their leading pass-catcher from each of the last two seasons after he suffered what is believed to be a torn ACL in the 49ers' 28-18 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl 58.

Aiyuk was injured while converting a third down with a reception from Brock Purdy late in the third quarter. He was sandwiched between two defenders and had his knee bent back, with replays quickly suggesting he had suffered a serious injury, which was soon confirmed by team doctors. 

"That's what it looks like, but we don't know for sure, just doing the tests and everything with our hands and with the trainers and stuff, all that," said head coach Kyle Shanahan. 

"So that's what we fear. That's what it looks like, but we've been wrong before. So, praying that we are."

It was the most demoralising blow of a disheartening day as the 49ers dropped to 3-4 with another defeat to the team they just simply cannot beat. 

But the fact remains the 49ers still have a lot of talent. They were down both Deebo Samuel, who only played four snaps with an illness, and Jauan Jennings (hip) on Sunday. All-Pro tight end George Kittle led the way with 92 yards on six catches while rookies Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing produced encouraging showings. 

With Samuel and Jennings set to return and the 49ers hopeful of getting Christian McCaffrey back after the bye, they have the pieces to still be extremely efficient on offense, and both Purdy and Kittle were clear after the game about what it will take without their best route-runner.

Purdy said of Aiyuk's injury:

"Obviously just what B.A. does for our offense and who he is and as a teammate and a brother of ours, it's sad. Wishing him nothing but the best and praying for him. That's my guy. When he goes down like that, obviously we have other guys that can step up and do their job really well. Ricky having him back for his first game was awesome. Just seeing him back out there and making cuts and plays, he's a baller too. So, we're really excited for him and for his growth and to bring him with us. We're excited about that and thinking about B.A. and wishing him nothing but the best too. We’ve all just got to come together as a group, collectively, as the receiver unit and all of us. Guys just got to step up and they have. That's the nature of the sport, sadly."

Kittle, meanwhile, pointed to the job the veterans at the skill positions now have in helping Pearsall and Cowing develop, the latter having caught a 41-yard reception that put the 49ers in the red zone with a chance to cut the Chiefs' fourth-quarter lead to one score, only for Purdy to throw his third interception three plays later.

"It sucks. You know, I love Brandon Aiyuk, the energy that he brings. What he can do on the football field, routes, catching the ball. Like he's an incredible football player," said Kittle. 

"So I think Kyle's gonna scheme some stuff up. The nice thing is we still have Jauan Jennings, me, Juice [Kyle Juszczyk], Deebo. Like we still have guys all over our roster that can make plays. And you know, Jake ran an awesome curl pump today, like he's gonna continue to get reps and be forced to grow up. Same with Ricky, they're gonna be forced to grow up and mature really, really fast. And you know, it's kind of on us as veterans in the system to help them along and make sure that they are ready to, you know, play in these football games."

But Kittle ended what was a predominantly optimistic response by returning to the cold hard truth the 49ers now have to face, adding: "But yeah, I mean, you can't really replace one, in my opinion, one of the best receivers in the NFL."

Kyle Shanahan explains Deebo Samuel illness that limited him to just four snaps in 49ers loss to Chiefs

It’s not surprising he couldn’t play through it.