The San Francisco 49ers came agonizingly close to capturing Super Bowl 58, only to fall short in a 25-22 overtime defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs. This marked the Niners’ second Super Bowl heartbreak in four years, and aside from the game extending into overtime, the loss bore an unsettling resemblance to their defeat in Super Bowl LIV, when Jimmy Garoppolo was under center.
This time, it was Brock Purdy leading the 49ers as they claimed the NFC Championship, and he recently opened up about the crushing loss. Reflecting on the offseason, which included his wedding, Purdy shared how difficult it was to revisit the game as he prepared for the upcoming season. “Once we got back for OTAs and stuff, rewatching the Super Bowl with Shanahan and Griese and all the guys, it’s like, Dang, it really was there,” Purdy said. “We were a couple plays away from winning it. You’ve got to learn from it, you’ve got to pick your head back up, go to work, and try to go get it again. It was tough. Still look back on it and think, We wish we coulda, woulda, but that’s life, so now we’ve got to respond.”
The gut-wrenching loss inevitably drew comparisons to the Super Bowl LIV defeat, where Garoppolo narrowly missed Emmanuel Sanders on what could have been a game-winning touchdown pass.
Once again, victory was within reach, but small mistakes kept the 49ers from lifting the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in nearly three decades. One play that Purdy might have had in mind occurred in overtime when he spotted Brandon Aiyuk open in the end zone. However, before he could release the pass, Chris Jones charged toward him, forcing Purdy to throw the ball away and settle for a field goal.
The Chiefs then dashed the hopes of Niners fans by marching down the field and scoring the game-winning touchdown, securing their third Super Bowl title in five years. Both of San Francisco’s recent Super Bowl losses have come at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, adding to the devastation.
As Purdy enters his third year in the NFL, there’s hope that the old adage, “Third time’s a charm,” will hold true for the 49ers. A third trip to the Super Bowl during Purdy’s third season as the starting quarterback could provide the redemption the team and its fans so desperately seek after those two heartbreaking losses.
