SF 49ers: 10 most painful playoff losses in franchise history

No. 4: SF 49ers 2013 Super Bowl XLVII loss to Ravens

Final Score: Ravens 34, SF 49ers 31

There are so many “what if?” moments paralleling each one of San Francisco’s playoff losses over the years, and few games have as many as that infamous 2013 Super Bowl XLVII loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

At least in terms of entertainment value, this bout between brothers Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh had it all. The lights went out at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, it was a back-and-forth contest with Baltimore getting out to a commanding 28-6 lead early in the third quarter, thanks to a kickoff return for a touchdown (again, no holding called on the play) only to see Jim Harbaugh’s squad engineer what was appearing to be an epic comeback afterward.

The Ravens still held the lead late in the fourth quarter, though, but the SF 49ers had their chances. Three of them, to be exact, right up against the goal line.

The Niners had a 1st-and-goal from Baltimore’s 5-yard line. Trailing 34-29, the thinking was offensive coordinator Greg Roman would go to his “bread and butter,” getting running back Frank Gore the ball to powerhouse his way into the end zone.

Instead, Roman called for three consecutive fade passes from quarterback Colin Kaepernick to wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

None of them connected.

In terms of “what ifs?,” San Francisco fans everywhere will continue to wonder what would have happened if Gore was given the ball.

We’ll never know. But the end result could have been different instead of the SF 49ers’ first-ever Super Bowl loss.