SANTA CLARA, Calif. — When the San Francisco 49ers began preparing for their upcoming game against the undefeated Kansas Town Chiefs, they would deny the pick to activate and relive their horrendous loss in Super Bowl LVIII.
The simple task of watching the tape of the 25-22 loss in Las Vegas brought enough of a thrill to the skin, but the two losses to the Chiefs at the game’s grandest level are something this season’s Niners are looking to leave behind. sideways. as they head into Sunday’s clash at Levi’s Stadium.
“I think everyone understands that we’ve lost two Super Bowls to them, so that can give you a little PTSD when you turn on the tape,” mentor Kyle Shanahan said. “But I think it’s human nature. You have to make sure you don’t get caught up in that. This game has nothing to do with previous games. That was last year.”
When the Niners and Chiefs tip off on Sunday, it will have been 252 days since San Francisco found its Lombardi Trophy goals diminished many times over as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs won their third championship in four years.
Not much has changed in Kansas Town since then, but the 49ers come into this matchup with plenty of new faces on notable playing fields. They fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, replaced him with Nick Sorensen and brought in Brandon Staley to serve as the staff’s primary mentor to help.
Injuries have also plagued the sun-kissed Niners with running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles tendonitis), defensive back Javon Hargrave (triceps tear), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles tear), defensive back Talanoa Hufanga ( torn ligaments in the wrist), the offensive lineman. Jon Feliciano (knee) and kicker Jake Moody (right ankle), both of whom started in the Super Bowl except for Hufanga, sidelined.
The Alternative Niners, such as defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Chase Young and defensive back Tashaun Gipson Sr., left in remote company.
The fact that this game virtually does not include the stakes of the Super Bowl also plays into how the Niners approach this rematch. As Trent Williams said after Ultra Future’s win against Seattle, “It’s not like we can recover from losing the Super Bowl. That ship has sailed.”
“I mean [it’s] It’s probably not as dramatic as I’m sure everyone else probably thinks,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “It’s ‘Hey, it was what it was.’ We continue forward. New season, new game, new teams, new players. “We’re just trying to play the best we can.”
Not to mention that the 49ers wouldn’t take a minute of pride in winning against the 5-0 Chiefs. Since Shanahan took over in 2017, the Niners are 0-4 against Kansas Town, including both Super Bowl losses in which the Chiefs overcame double-digit deficits.
Sunday would be the 10th regular-season rematch of the previous generation’s Super Bowl. The Super Bowl winner won six of the previous nine, while the Philadelphia Eagles defeated Kansas Town in the maximum age of 11.
“It’s definitely a little emotional, but at this point it’s just a game,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “We’re just watching the tape, trying to learn from it. A lot of similarities to last year, some new guys, but very good defense and offense. Obviously they have [Mahomes] Back there, it’s always dangerous.”
To complicate matters, Kansas Town is new and coming off a Presen 6 bye. The Niners had a “mini-break” later playing at their best Thursday night, but they still won’t have an extra lead. For his career, Chiefs mentor Andy Reid is 21-4 in the regular season following the team’s bye, the best of any head coach (at least 10 games) since the bye was instituted in 1990. .
Of course, the 3-3 Niners can get a win against any opponent regardless of history and that’s the mentality Shanahan needs from his team to hit this future.
“We’re playing a really good AFC opponent,” Shanahan said. “We’re at .500 right now. We want to stay on top of our division and get a win. You think about those things, but in terms of the way the game is going, it really has no correlation and you try to make sure you don’t. be so.”
