Not a lot of things went right for the 49ers as they blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
A loss of that nature brought out some intensely negative knee-jerk reactions and a slew of terrible takes on the internet. While the loss undoubtedly stings, there’s some things to keep in mind heading into the 2020 offseason.
One overarching theme of the post-Super Bowl takes has been the attempted blame of one person. It was not Jimmy Garoppolo’s fault. Nor was it Kyle Shanahan’s, or Robert Saleh’s, or any single person. There were mistakes on all levels.
Garoppolo was not sharp in the fourth quarter. Shanahan probably has a few play calls he’d like back. San Francisco’s secondary had a couple of significant coverage breakdowns late. All of those things can be true without absolving anyone of blame just to throw it on one person. The need to have a solitary scapegoat makes sense, but in this case, a series of mistakes led to the 49ers’ ultimate demise.
What Sunday came down to was one team making plays while the other did not. That’s how football goes sometimes. Patrick Mahomes completed a 44-yard bomb on third-and-15, just getting his throw off before a big hit from DeForest Buckner. Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones knocked down multiple Garoppolo passes late when Garoppolo had open receivers. Garoppolo also missed an open Emmanuel Sanders on a deep shot that would’ve given the 49ers the lead with just under a minute left.
There were also some smaller plays like key tackles and good coverage down the field that helped spark the Chiefs’ comeback to stifle the 49ers’ offense.
All the scheming and game-planning in the world doesn’t matter if one player simply beats another, and Kansas City made plays. Digging deeper will divulge details of those plays, but the Chiefs did what the 49ers couldn’t in the fourth quarter. That’s how football goes sometimes. It just went that way for San Francisco in the worst moment.
San Francisco is also in a good spot to be in contention for a few years. Expecting a window larger than a handful of years is probably unrealistic in the modern NFL and with the 49ers’ current salary cap situation. While going to back-to-back Super Bowls is difficult, the 49ers can easily be in the conversation if they keep this team largely intact.
This isn’t the point where the team should make any dramatic decisions like firing Shanahan or Saleh, or moving on from Garoppolo.
It’s worth considering, while Garoppolo was not good in key moments Sunday, this was still his first full season as a starter. The 28-year-old now has 29 starts under his belt including the postseason.
His regular season was good, but his playoff performance left a lot to be desired. There’s still growth for him in the offense though where he doesn’t miss open receivers the way he did in the Super Bowl.
The 2019 season didn’t end the way San Francisco wanted it to, but Sunday wasn’t the end of the road for them. They’re still in a position to take steps forward despite the heartbreak in Super Bowl LIV, and if things go right, they’ll be back to avenge the loss sooner rather than later.