From 1982 through 1995, the San Francisco 49ers and their fans knew nothing but Super Bowl glory.
From 2013 through February of 2024, they've known nothing but Super Bowl heartache.
Indeed, the Niners' last three trips to the NFL championship have been heartbreaking, ending once to the Baltimore Ravens and then a staggering two times to the Kansas City Chiefs, including the latest one in overtime.
Yet that doesn't fully erase the fact San Francisco had some pretty elite teams during those failed Super Bowl runs.
Pro Football Focus recently compiled a list and determined the 10 best teams of the last 20 years that ultimately failed to win a Super Bowl.
You guessed it, the 49ers are on there. Unfortunately, though, they hold a distinct accolade that'll make their presence on the list even more painful.
49ers appear 2 times on PFF's list of non-Super Bowl-winning teams
PFF took their metrics to compile the data, and the research certainly paid homage to just how great the Niners squads from both 2019 and 2023 were, giving a major hat tip to both head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch for compiling such.
Unfortunately, Shanahan and Co. lost to K.C. in the big game both times, which translated to San Francisco being one of just two teams to populate PFF's list of non-winners twice.
While the best-overall non-champion team turned out to be the 2007 New England Patriots (the Pats are the only other club to show up twice on the list), the 2023 Niners ranked third:
Winning the Super Bowl has proven to be a Sisyphean task for Kyle Shanahan. His 2023 squad was certainly worthy of doing so.
San Francisco reached Super Bowl 58 with a league-best 95.3 overall PFF grade. Impressively, the 49ers graded no worse than third in both offensive and defensive profile. A whopping nine starters — six on offense and three on defense — secured at least an 84.5 mark, including stars like Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.
Losing to the Chiefs in overtime in the big game only reaffirms the legitimacy of this 49ers team, which owns the 14th-best point differential in league history.
PFF subsequently listed San Francisco's 2019 Super Bowl team 10th, bringing up the rear of the painful list.
And, yes, that was a special group, too:
The 2019 49ers were a phenomenal group, pacing the league with a 93.9 overall PFF grade. San Francisco sat no worse than sixth in EPA per play on both sides of the ball, including second in defensive and fourth in offensive grade. Many of the same linchpins dominated, although its defense was even scarier with Richard Sherman, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Jimmie Ward next to Bosa.
The 49ers actually compiled the third-highest point differential during the 2019 campaign at a +169, trailing the Ravens and Patriots. But San Francisco’s more well-rounded group — one which was firmly in Super Bowl 54 against Kansas City — makes it a hair better than those two.
Reading through all of that and recognizing just how agonizingly close the 49ers were to winning the Super Bowl in both seasons has to be painful.
But, hey. At least PFF showed some love to the Niners as a two-time member of the best of the non-best, right? Right?
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