Kyle Shanahan isn’t to blame for 49ers loss to Chiefs in Super Bowl 54

While many want to blame the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on head coach Kyle Shanahan, that doesn’t paint the full picture of what went down on Sunday.

The San Francisco 49ers suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV this past Sunday. After entering the fourth quarter with a 20-10 lead, the 49ers gave up 21 points in the final quarter en route to a 31-20 loss. After such a dominating season, many fans and media members alike looked for a reason that things went south for San Francisco.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan was an easy target. With one of the best rushing attacks in the league, Shanahan abandoned the run game late and instead called passing plays while having the lead. This was a head-scratcher.

But a football game never comes down to just one player or one coach, games are lost as a team. And here’s why this loss doesn’t come squarely on Shanahan’s shoulders.

The day after the Super Bowl, many football pundits were going after Shanahan, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was one of the loudest. And he does have a point: The Niners defense was playing on its heels in the fourth quarter. The 49ers did have to deal with the Chiefs going no-huddle. But that doesn’t completely absolve them from giving up 21 points in a matter of about five minutes.

The 49ers showed all season their defense was built tough. Teams going no-huddle and trying to catch up with them in the fourth quarters of games was nothing new. Those were the situations in which they would shine, coming up with clutch stops and even takeaways.

But against the Chiefs, they seemed outmatched at times. And Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes exploited mismatches and blown coverages. It was evident on certain big plays such as the 44-yard completion to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and the 38-yard completion to wide receiver Sammy Watkins. The defense did not seem ready for this offensive onslaught from the Chiefs.

Another factor that deserves noting is the play of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Although he wasn’t awful, there were a few more plays he could’ve made that would’ve impacted the game positively. The one that is being scrutinized the most is the fourth-quarter overthrow to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, in which he had beat the coverage deep and could’ve scored easily.

In addition, All-Pro tight end George Kittle only had four receptions for 36 yards. That is a very telling stat. Kittle was one of the 49ers’ most impactful players all season long, and he only touched the ball four times. While Garoppolo made some errant throws on his own, he had pressure in his face constantly and that amplified things.

While the Chiefs defense only managed to sack Garoppolo once, they had six QB hits and were constantly in his face. So the offensive line of the 49ers deserves some of the blame for Garoppolo’s less-than-stellar play.

Had they given him some more time to throw, chances are he would’ve been able to connect more with players such as Kittle.

The moral of the story is, when a team loses, it never comes down to one player. Or in this case, one coach.

Could Shanahan have opted to run the ball more? Yes absolutely. Would that have guaranteed victory? Maybe or maybe not.

There were many factors that went into the 49ers’ Super Bowl LIV loss. The defense didn’t come out strong in the fourth quarter. The quarterback and offensive line both struggled at times. There were many lessons to take away from this game. But one that shouldn’t be taken away is that it was the fault of the head coach.