San Francisco 49ers

In a bang-bang second-quarter play, the 49ers lost Dre Greenlaw for the game and the Chargers lost Justin Herbert for a few key plays to finish the first half.

Herbert scrambled on third-and-6 from the 49ers’ 40-yard line less than a minute before halftime. As he neared the first-down marker, a trio of Niners defenders converged on him: Fred Warner grabbed his legs, then Jimmie Ward hit him on the left shoulder and, finally, Greenlaw hit him from the front as he was falling to the ground.

Greenlaw’s helmet collided with Herbert’s on the play, and after a few moments of discussion, the officials ruled that it not only warranted a personal foul penalty, but an ejection for Greenlaw.

Herbert was also momentarily forced out of the game to be evaluated for concussion symptoms, bringing backup Chase Daniel in to finish out two plays before a Cameron Dicker field goal stretched the Chargers’ lead to 16-10 as time expired in the first half. Greenlaw, who was making his return from a calf injury, was replaced on the field by Azeez Al-Shaair.

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley told NBC’s Melissa Stark coming out of the halftime break that Herbert had been cleared to return in the second half.

NBC halftime commentator Tony Dungy said the decision to eject Greenlaw was a “terrible call,” and surely many 49ers fans agree. Color commentator Cris Collinsworth said he felt like the ruling was unfair to Greenlaw.

Herbert’s head and body moved downward as he was tripped up by Warner, then was pushed to Herbert’s right when Ward hit him. Greenlaw appeared to lead with his shoulder, but after Herbert changed trajectory twice in a short period, ended up hitting him helmet-to-helmet.

Mike is an assistant sports editor.