LAS VEGAS — San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan walked into a deathly quiet locker room with the difficult task of finding words to console a team that had come so close to reaching the top of the NFL mountain for the second time in four years. Ta. It's running out.
Just as he did after his team blew a 10-point lead to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV, Shanahan did so again Sunday night in Super Bowl III, a 25-22 overtime loss to the same Chiefs. I came to the same conclusion.
“Nothing changes what I say,” Shanahan explained. “I don't care how you lose. It hurts when you lose in the Super Bowl, especially a game you thought you could win. But when you're in the NFL, I think every team in the game should hurt except for one.” To the last. I'm getting pretty close, but I'm not there yet and I'm suffering right now. ”
Sunday night's loss was due to the fact that the Niners were unable to hold a double-digit lead again, had two costly errors on special teams, and had running back Christian McCaffrey botch a promising lead-off drive. It wasn't just the fact that it happened, it was painful. . It hurt for that reason, but it hurt even more because it was the latest in a series of devastating near-misses that are becoming a regular occurrence in San Francisco in late January and early February.
The Niners have advanced to at least the NFC Championship Game in four of the past five seasons. They made it to the Super Bowl in two of his campaigns. They lost double-digit leads in both the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship Game to the Philadelphia Eagles without a healthy quarterback for most of the game.
San Francisco has lost its third consecutive Super Bowl since its last win following the 1994 season, joining the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals as the fifth team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls. . The Niners are currently 0-4 against Shanahan's Chiefs, the most losses without a win against an opponent led by Shanahan.
The 49ers have had a lot of success regularly reaching the postseason. But their inability to turn those into championships left an ongoing bitter taste in the 49ers' mouths.
“We've been close so many times before that we only have a few chances,” defensive end Nick Bosa said.
Sunday's loss had a good chance to seal the deal.
The 49ers were the aggressors in the first half, moving the ball at will on the opening drive, averaging 11.5 yards per play on the first four snaps. With one out and 10 base at Kansas City's own 29-yard line, McCaffrey handed off to the right side, Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal pried the ball open, and defensive end George Karlaftis recovered it at the Kansas City 27. did.
This was McCaffrey's third fumble of the season after losing just two games in his first six seasons (2017-2022). After the loss, a depressed McCaffrey repeated the same phrase over and over again within minutes.
“The first thing you think is you can't put the ball on the ground on your first drive,” McCaffrey said. “It stings. Put that on me.”
This was not the only accident that cost San Francisco dearly. When the Niners got the ball back with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter, leading 10-6, the special teams unit, which had been playing well, started to suffer.
Kansas City punter Tommy Townsend's kick traveled 40 yards to the Niners' 25-yard line and hit rookie cornerback Darrell Lueter Jr. in the leg as he tried to block returner Ray-Ray McLeod.
Coach Rueter said he didn't hear “Peter,” the signal to get out of the way if the ball was headed toward a non-returner. Alarmed, McLeod tried to scoop up the ball but lost it, and Chiefs cornerback Jalen Watson fell on the ball at the Niners' 16.
McLeod said he had no regrets about trying to catch or retrieve the ball, but Rueter said he was more disappointed in not being able to dodge the ball in the first place.
“I feel disgusted,” Rueter said. “It makes you feel like it's all your fault in a way. It kind of makes you feel bad. But at the end of the day you just accept it with a grain of salt and just move on. , we have to learn from it.'' “
After the Chiefs quickly turned that mistake into a touchdown, the 49ers fought back with a 12-play touchdown drive — only to be capped by kicker Jake Moody's extra point blocked by Chenal. Ta.
The Niners and Chiefs traded field goals to force overtime, at which point San Francisco won the toss and decided to take the ball first. The league's new postseason overtime rules give both teams a chance to retain possession before the end of the game unless the first drive ends in a safety.
“We have come close so many times that we only have a few chances.”
49ers DE Nick Bosa
Before the game, Shanahan said he discussed the possibility of overtime with his analytics staff and decided it would be best to get the ball first since Patrick Mahomes was on the other team. That would give the Niners third possession in both games. The teams tied the score on the first possession, and overtime went to sudden death.
Shanahan said he was pleased with the games he and his staff coached.
“What I can't stand is when I second guess myself by doing something I didn't plan on doing or didn't do,” Shanahan said. “I'm proud of what we did today in terms of working as a coaching staff and as players and doing everything we had planned. It was.”
Now, the 49ers enter next offseason and need to figure out how to finally break through. The question will continue to be what prevented this victory and those before it.
Most of San Francisco's veteran core is still under contract and should return to play again. Before that happens, the 49ers will need another loss in the Super Bowl. As Shanahan reminded his players in the postgame locker room, there's no time limit on dealing with that pain.
It's a process they've become accustomed to.
“It's hard to put yourself out there on the biggest stage in the world and come up short and then have to deal with what that entails,” San Francisco fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “It won’t be easy, but we will never back down and we will never back down.”