The 49ers finished in second place in the NFL.
Thirty other teams failed to advance to the final game of the season, but that does not minimize the pain that 49ers players, coaches and fans will feel for a long, long time.
Who’s to blame for the 49ers’ 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII?
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The better question is ... who’s to credit?
And the answers are Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City’s lockdown cornerbacks and, heck, their entire defense, as well as their coaching staff.
The Chiefs did what was necessary to win the game. They’ve done it before, and they will enter 2024 as one of the favorites to do it again.
But we realize that is not a satisfactory answer in this space. That’s why it’s time to vent in this final edition of 49ers Overreactions:
San Francisco 49ers
Kyle Shanahan reminds me of Bill Walsh's comment of Steve DeBerg when he switched to Joe Montana: He's just good enough to get you beat. We need to switch to a new head coach. (@kbhsilver)
Overreaction? Yes.
If the 49ers had advanced to four NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls over a five-year period, I don’t think Walsh would have said that about DeBerg.
I can see the 49ers moving on from Kyle Shanahan only if Andy Reid is available and brings Mahomes with him.
We fully understand the uncontrollable urge to blame the head coach, but I don’t see it in this game.
Could the 49ers have run the ball more at the start of the second half? I suppose. They had three first-and-10 situations and they threw the ball on two of those. The run play was stopped for no yards.
The 49ers had success throwing on first downs in the first half. Their plan was to be balanced on first down and stay out of third-and-long situations in order to limit the effectiveness of Kansas City’s pressure packages on third downs, when everyone knew the 49ers had to throw.
But Kansas City’s corners did great jobs covering Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
As for the decision at the beginning of overtime, it was the right call to take the ball. Their defense was exhausted after having just been on the field for 10 plays and the game-tying field goal.
So while 49ers fans have reason to feel sad and frustrated with the team’s inability to win a sixth Super Bowl, blowing it all up and hiring a worse coach is not the answer.
Shanny called plain vanilla plays in crunch time and had no answers when everyone knew KC defense was sending everyone in OT (@amy_age)
Overreaction? Yes.
So the 49ers ran the ball too much in overtime?
The play call on third-and-4 in overtime was just fine. Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings were open. The problem was with the pass protection, as right guard Spencer Burford went the wrong direction and did not block his man, defensive tackle Chris Jones.
If Jones had encountered any kind of resistance, Brock Purdy should have been able to make an easy throw to Jennings for a first down or Aiyuk for a touchdown.
The offensive line needs to be significantly upgraded. (@dwclare)
Overreaction? No.
Maybe not “significantly,” but, yes, the offensive line needs to be better next season.
The question is how they get there.
Burford, entering his third NFL season, is running out of time. The 49ers need to be better at right guard, and the onus is on him to make a huge leap, especially after his self-admitted mistake in overtime of the Super Bowl. That's the one position where the 49ers should look to draft or bring in someone for an upgrade.
Right tackle Colton McKivitz played well in the playoffs, and he can be expected to take a step forward, too.
Left tackle Trent Williams, left guard Aaron Banks and center Jake Brendel likely are set.
The 49ers will keep a close eye on free agency and the draft for offensive linemen, for sure.
But it’s possible the 49ers’ offensive line can be upgraded without pouring in tons of resources.
Lynch did not sound optimistic about Aiyuk staying (@tpscott)
Overreaction? No.
General manager John Lynch did not make any promises about signing Aiyuk to a lucrative, long-term contract extension.
But that’s all part of the negotiating process.
Aiyuk, who remains under contract to the 49ers heading into his fifth season, is in line for a new deal. But it will take many months of ups-and-downs during negotiations to get it accomplished.
But with the 49ers paying Purdy like a third-stringer, they should have enough flexibility on the salary cap to make it happen.
This loss hurt way more than the others given how close we were and how well we played. (@elkiissa)
Overreaction? No.
That seems reasonable. The 49ers put everything into it from the end of last season, and things set up perfectly for them to go all the way.
They had some injuries along the way, but they were healthy enough entering the playoffs to win it all. (Before the injuries to linebacker Dre Greenlaw and guard Jon Feliciano in the Super Bowl, anyway.)
Purdy proved his end-of-season stint of 2022 was no fluke. The 49ers had just about everything to be able to win the Super Bowl.
And when they did not get the job done, we can understand why the fan base is hurting right now.
Jake Moody can set a Super Bowl record and still deserve to be fired. (@robbkorinke)
Overreaction? Yes.
Jake Moody made it through his rookie season intact. Oh, sure, we can debate the blocked extra point. If he makes that kick, giving the 49ers a 17-13 lead with 11:22 remaining in regulation, it would have changed the game. It is unknown whether it would have won the game for the 49ers or led to the Chiefs scoring the winning touchdown late in regulation.
Let’s also not forget that Moody made field goals of 55 and 53 yards in the game. Those are kicks that the 49ers probably would not have attempted with Robbie Gould. The 49ers would have probably punted the first time and gone for it later on a fourth-and-5 situation from the Kansas City 35.
Either way, Moody will not be fired. He figures to be around for a long time.
I am never watching a 49er game again (@markrogers)
Overreaction? Yes.
How dare the 49ers lose the Super Bowl just to spite you!
We envision your promise of swearing off this team lasting until Week 1 of the preseason. Perhaps if you’re really stubborn, you can hold off until the regular-season opener.
But let’s face it, there are not many better NFL options if this whole 49ers fandom thing is not for you.
The extreme temperatures and summer humidity of Kansas City can be brutal. But that’s the only place to be right now for any fair-weather NFL fans.