49ers would have won Super Bowl 54 if they did these 3 things

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Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Better Time Management

Late in the second quarter, the 49ers had the ball with 1:08 remaining while at their 25-yard line with three timeouts. Kyle Shanahan was criticized the most for this specific situation because the team had a chance to quickly drive down the field and score a quick field goal. Fans have seen the team score quick points and Shanahan has the intellect to come up with trick plays to scheme players wide open most of the time.

For some reason, Shanahan didn’t use any of the three timeouts until 14 seconds were remaining in the quarter.

The play right after that, Jimmy Garoppolo threw to tight end George Kittle to the Chiefs 15-yard line, which would have set them up for a field goal or a touchdown, but the play was negated by an offensive pass-interference call on Kittle. This led to the 49ers kneeling to go into halftime tied 10-10.

I understand not wanting the Chiefs to get the ball back before the second half, considering how high-powered their offense is and their ability to score quickly. But it’s the Super Bowl.

There is no time to be conservative. Make risky moves and trust in the No. 1-ranked pass defense in the league to stop them from scoring before halftime.