3 lessons Kyle Shanahan must learn after (another) 49ers Super Bowl loss

Lesson No. 1: Do not let your opponent stay in the game

The 49ers thoroughly dominated the Super Bowl in the first half. Their defense played phenomenally and limited the Patrick Mahomes-led offense to just three points. The offense was able to move the ball well at times, but then a penalty or a negative play would cause drives to stall out.

The Niners had a chance to take a rather sizable lead going into halftime. If their offense had figured out a way to get the ball moving consistently and put points on the board, they could have mounted a daunting advantage on the scoreboard that would have been difficult for even Mahomes and Co. to overcome.

To be fair to the Chief's defense and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, they played a great game as well. It was going to be difficult for the 49ers to move the ball up and down the field with ease, but they certainly could have scored one more touchdown in that first half to have taken a more commanding lead.

Mahomes has proven in his career that he can come back from just about any deficit. But with how well the 49ers' defense was playing, and continued to play in the third quarter, they could have potentially taken a three-touchdown lead going into the final quarter if they could have taken advantage on offense.

That would have forced the Chiefs to start taking more chances.

You cannot allow any team to keep hanging around, but especially not that team. The 49ers had a great opportunity to create distance in that first half but they let it slip through their fingers.

If Shanahan ever finds himself in a Super Bowl again, he absolutely has to take advantage on offense when his defense is playing that well.