SANTA CLARA – Coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged Wednesday that viewing game film from last Feb. 11 in Las Vegas comes with some post-traumatic stress, nevertheless it was a mandatory step for the 49ers to return in time and examine how and why they lost 25-22 in extra time in Super Bowl LVIII.
With that, the 49ers (3-3) began preparations to host the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.
“It's definitely a little emotional, but right now it's just a game so we're just watching the tape and trying to learn from it,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “Lots of similarities to last year. A few new guys, but a really good defense and the offense obviously has No. 15 (Patrick Mahomes) back there, so always dangerous.”
Linebacker Fred Warner said of the film session in a deadpan voice: “It was fun to relive it, see where we went wrong and try to fix it this time.”
And while the 49ers are critical of the loss in its entirety, they may always remember the fleeting moment after they were one outstanding defensive play away from leaving Allegiant Field with their first Super Bowl championship for the reason that 1994 season.
Here is a summary:
After stalling on the 9-yard line, the 49ers settled for a 27-yard field goal from Jake Moody to take a 22-19 lead.
Isaiah Pacheco was whistled on the Kansas City 34 by Javon Hargrave and Oren Burks for no-win on third-and-1 and brought up fourth-and-1 with 6:05 to play. A stop by the 49ers would have meant an end unlike another in Super Bowl history.
Mahomes lined up with the shotgun while tight end Travis Kelce moved from right to left. The ball was snapped and Mahomes faked out to Pacheco, who was running in the identical direction while Kelce reversed his pivot and went left to right.
As Bosa crashed from the skin, Mahomes ran around him on a zone read and gained eight yards and a primary down – the decisive play in a game-winning touchdown drive that resulted in a 3-yard pass to Mecole Hardman. Mahomes was tackled by Warner, whose eyes could have been on Kelce, and safety Logan Ryan.
“You want to be great in those critical situations to ultimately win the game, but there are very few plays throughout the game where you could have said, 'Oh, that's it.' “That could have won,” Warner said. “You have to look at them all.”
Bosa was a little more expansive.
“Yeah, that was tough because we have calls that can ruin that,” Bosa said. “They did the zone reading a couple of times and we didn’t find an answer to it. I definitely thought he would keep it, but I have to do my job, especially in a big moment like this. But this time we definitely have a plan for the zone read. Hindsight is 20-20.”
Shanahan said the fourth-and-1 defense was “50-50,” and that may be generous considering who the Chiefs had at quarterback.
“It’s one of the tougher places in football,” Shanahan said. “You want to start with sneaks. You have to defend the edges, you have to defend the bounce, every rollout pick play. . . You can't defend every move. They put us in a good situation and they used their quarterback and we had a man on him, we had a chance to stop him, but it's not an easy stop.”
Shanahan wasn't willing to attribute the loss to a single play, even one that could have given the 49ers their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
“There are other plays that are worse, but this is your chance,” Shanahan said. “You get a stop for one yard and it’s over and you know you’re Super Bowl champions. It’s difficult when it comes to that.”
Pearsall update
Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, in a friendly and informal conversation with reporters in the locker room, said he felt ready to get going and wasn't sure what activation plans the 49ers had for him.
After practicing Monday for the first time since surviving a gunshot wound to the chest on Aug. 31, Pearsall appeared lithe and happy during Wednesday's warmups, which included work as a wide receiver and punt returner.
The 49ers can remove him from the reserve/non-football injured list before Sunday's game, and his three-week evaluation window ends Nov. 4, after the bye.
Shanahan said everyone was excited to watch Pearsall practice Monday and then break up the team huddle when he was “out of breath” and had to talk right after a two-minute drill.
Walking wounded
Running back Jordan Mason (shoulder) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (wrist) were limited and wore blue non-contact jerseys at practice.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings left the Seattle game with a hip injury and did not practice, nor did place-kickers Moody (ankle) and Matthew Wright (shoulder, back). The 49ers have not yet placed Moody on injured reserve and may hope he can make it back within four weeks of the injury.
Defensive tackle Maliek Collins did not practice because of a knee injury, while veteran defensive end Leonard Floyd got a Veterans Day off. Safety Malik Mustapha (ankle) and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (knee) were limited.
Kicking puzzle
The 49ers signed former Green Bay kicker Anders Carlson to the practice squad as a backup in case Wright is unable to play against the Chiefs. Wright, like Moody, was injured during a tackle on a kickoff return – plays that wouldn't be necessary on a touchback.
Only one of Wright's kickoffs against Seattle was a touchback. Laviska Shenault ran 97 yards for Seattle, leading a comeback from a 23-3 deficit to 23-17. Carlson only had a 43 percent touchback percentage with Green Bay last season.
Shanahan, however, isn't inclined to use a heavy-footed kicker simply to score touchbacks.
“That could always be a possibility, but it puts a lot of strain on the roster,” Shanahan said. “If you ever had an injury in the wrong place it would be very unfortunate. But that’s an interesting decision, but one we probably won’t make.”
Chiefs red zone issues
Stop if you've heard this before. One of the most creative offensive minds in football, who also happens to have a mobile quarterback who can hit either spontaneously or efficiently, can't seem to find the end zone from the red zone.
After scoring 3 for 5 touchdowns from 20 or fewer against Seattle, the 49ers improved their touchdown rate to 44.4 percent (12 for 27) and rank 25th in the NFL after scoring 68 percent last year were number 1.
Kansas City, meanwhile, is 29th at 38.9 percent (7-for-18), and Mahomes is saying some of the same things Brock Purdy has been saying for weeks as the 49ers try to avoid close-range field goals and score more touchdowns .
Before the bye, the Chiefs offense gained 594 yards but was just 2 of 7 in the red zone. Mahomes lamented a missed opportunity in Week 3 against Atlanta, when he didn't make a back-shoulder attempt and Kansas City ended up not scoring.
“You have to pick and choose when you take advantage of those opportunities,” Mahomes told reporters on Wednesday. “Obviously with our defense you don’t necessarily want to put the ball in danger when you’re in the red zone. But if you get the opportunity and you can throw a ball where it could be or nobody could be and the guy can catch it, then I'll work on that as the season goes on.”
While Purdy has found tight end George Kittle for touchdowns of seven, 12, 4, 10 and 9 yards, Kelce, Mahomes' top goal, has yet to attain a touchdown.
Originally published:
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