10 reasons why 49ers fell to Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
A week later, it remains as clear as ever that this will never go away.
The 49ers were crushed on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.
And they remain crushed.
There wasn’t just one reason why the 49ers lost 25-22 to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII. It wasn’t just one play, one decision or one theme that could be picked out. It was a lot of things, starting (and ending) with Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes as the best player on the field.
Perhaps because there is no easily identifiable reason for the 49ers’ loss, it makes it more confusing and confusing for everyone involved with the team to accept.
Ultimately, there were many reasons. And here are 10 plays and talking points, ranked in order of importance, from the 49ers’ devastating season-ending defeat:
1, Fourth-and-1 in OT
Why is this play No. 1?
It’s simple: If the 49ers had stopped Kansas City in overtime on downs, the game would have been over.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes thought he had the ball in his hands on fourth down, so the 49ers should have made it harder for him to pick up those 8 yards with his legs around the right tackle.
Even if it meant sacrificing something in reporting to identify someone as a spy, that would have been the better option. In any case, Kansas City should complete a high-pressure passage. The Chiefs had thrown more passes than any team in the NFL this season, so the 49ers should have forced them to make a play instead of not even challenging Mahomes with the ball in his hands.
The 49ers defense slowed down the longer the drive went on, offering very little resistance the rest of the way on the way to the Chiefs scoring the winning touchdown.
2, Third and 5 in the 4th quarter
Perhaps there were already signs that cornerback Trent McDuffie would emerge. Perhaps tight end George Kittle, lined up in the backfield, could have recognized it and slid to his left in pass protection. Maybe Brock Purdy could have made a quicker pass to Brandon Aiyuk.
There are a lot of maybes, but if the 49ers had converted that first, they might have been able to use most of the regular clock to set up Jake Moody for what could have been a walk-off field goal attempt and a possible 22-19 victory.
But after McDuffie broke up the pass, Moody’s 53-yard field goal came with 1:53 left, giving Mahomes and Co. had enough time to drive to the equalizer to force extra time.
3, muted punt
Kansas City mustered just one touchdown in regulation, and that came on a one-play, 16-yard “drive.”
The 49ers committed a turnover when Tommy Townsend’s short kick hit the leg of 49ers blocker Darrell Luter. Returner Ray-Ray McCloud called for Luter to get away from the ball, but Luter apparently didn’t hear him.
When the ball was live, McCloud tried to pick it up and stay on his feet rather than fall on it and do everything possible to secure possession.
The Chiefs recovered at the 16-yard line and Mahomes made the 49ers pay with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the next play. That touchdown gave Kansas City its first lead of the game, 13-10, with two minutes left in the third quarter.
4, missed PAT
Purdy teamed up with determined wide receiver Jauan Jennings on a 10-yard scoring pass with 11:22 remaining in regulation for the 49ers to regain the lead.
However, Moody’s extra point attempt appeared to be low, and Leo Chenal raised his hand to block it. So instead of the 49ers having a four-point lead, they only had a three-point lead.
Of course, we don’t know how it would have ended. Kansas City might not have settled for a field goal on the next drive, and they certainly wouldn’t have kicked a field goal late in regulation to get within one point with :03 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The blocked extra point was the reason the rest of the game played out the way it did and ended in overtime.
The 49ers had a chance to gain control on their first drive of the game. The 49ers moved the ball 46 yards on the first four plays of the game and had a first down at the Kansas City 29-yard line.
They were already in field goal range. And in a game where points didn’t come easily, a touchdown would have been meaningful.
But on a first-and-10 play, Chenal forced a McCaffrey fumble and Kansas City’s George Karlaftis recovered it. The 49ers offense never seemed easier than during the four-play series to open the game.
After a scoreless first quarter, the 49ers finally broke through early in the second quarter with Moody’s 55-yard field goal.
6, Third-and-4 in OT
The 49ers had the right play call on a critical third-down play in overtime. But right guard Spencer Burford, playing in place of injured starter Jon Feliciano, inexplicably blocked the wrong person and left Kansas City defensive tackle Chris Jones with a free run at Purdy.
Purdy, with Jones in his face, threw Jennings high and wide down the right sideline. Had the play been blocked as intended, Purdy could have hit Jennings for the first down or perhaps Aiyuk in the end zone for a possible 9-yard touchdown.
As it was, Moody made a 27-yard field goal and the 49ers couldn’t protect the three-point lead against Mahomes on the next series.
7, Greenlaw injury
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered a bizarre injury in the second quarter when he tore his left Achilles tendon as he lunged from the sideline to take the field.
To that point, Greenlaw was everywhere early in the game. The injury could rank higher on this list of reasons why the 49ers lost the game, but we’ll never know.
Greenlaw was involved in the tackle of Kansas City’s Travis Kelce on a first-quarter reception that gained only 1 yard. That was Kelce’s only catch in the first half. He finished with game-highs of nine catches for 93 yards.
8, Decision at the start of OT
Coach Kyle Shanahan’s decision to take the ball to open overtime was a no-brainer, especially considering the defense was exhausted by an 11-play drive at the end of regulation time that resulted in the tying field goal.
But it also made it easier for Kansas City coach Andy Reid to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 34 (see Reason No. 1). However, there’s also a chance the Chiefs wouldn’t have even been in a fourth-and-1 situation to open overtime against a tired 49ers defense.
The longer the ride lasted, the easier it became for Mahomes and Co.
The 49ers’ analytics team concluded that it made more sense to take the ball due to the advantage gained by the third possession. After the teams have one possession each, the game begins in sudden death mode.
The downside to taking the ball first is that the Chiefs knew exactly what needed to be done when they took over. The fact that the 49ers opened OT with a field goal meant that Kansas City knew it had four offensive plays to keep the chains moving.
9, Three and out
The 49ers attempted two passes and one run on their three first-and-10 situations to open the second half. That doesn’t seem too bizarre considering they had more success throwing on first down in the first 30 minutes of the game.
When the 49ers threw on first down, it prevented Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo from applying exotic pressure packages on those plays. That’s why the 49ers wanted to be balanced in the first place.
Should the 49ers have run the ball on their first three possessions of the second half? Maybe so, but the Chiefs were on rundowns, and the 49ers weren’t having much consistent success on the ground either.
The 49ers’ two first-down pass plays resulted in an incompletion and an 8-yard loss on a throw to Jennings. On the 49ers’ third possession, McCaffrey was stopped for no gain on a first-down running play.
The 49ers had third-and-long situations with 15, 11 and 10 yards to gain to open the third quarter.
Leading by seven points, 10-3, the 49ers failed to capitalize on a Ji’Ayir Brown interception and a Kansas City three-and-out at halftime to extend their lead.
10, I don’t know the OT rules
The fact that some 49ers players admitted at the start of overtime that they didn’t know the rules was especially embarrassing.
But it had no influence on the outcome of the match.
When the 49ers offense took over to open overtime, their goal was to score a touchdown. When they failed on third down (see #6), they settled for the go-ahead field goal.
And when the 49ers defense took the field, their goal was to keep Kansas City out of the end zone. When they failed, they lost the match.
The 49ers’ inability to address the rules for postseason overtime games was just another talking point from a game that will always be a source of emotional pain and doubt for 49ers players, coaches and fans.
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