Patrick Willis laments 49ers' final plays vs. Ravens in Super Bowl 47
By Peter Panacy
Super Bowl 47 still haunts 49ers fans, and legendary linebacker Patrick Willis is still haunted by it, too.
It's been over 10 years now, but the sting of what happened in the San Francisco 49ers' first-ever Super Bowl loss way back in February of 2013 still lingers to this day.
For those who choose to recall, the Niners found themselves trailing 34-29 late in the fourth quarter but managed to get down to the Baltimore Ravens' 5-yard line
Three consecutive incompletions by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, including that infamous fourth-down fade pass intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree (on which he was no-doubt held) resulted in a turnover on downs.
And an eventual Ravens Super Bowl victory.
That loss created all kinds of "what ifs?" among both fans and analysts. Turns out, some of the players who partook in the game still question the play-calling from that final possession.
Including future Hall of Fame linebacker Patrick Willis.
Patrick Willis still wonders why 49ers didn't run Frank Gore late in Super Bowl
Willis joined former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III on the latter's RG3 and the Ones Podcast to talk all kinds of topics, including San Francisco's most-recent Super Bowl defeat.
But it's the outcome of Super Bowl 47 that still haunts Willis to this day.
“We got down on the 5-yard line, or the 2- or 3-yard line, and I said, 'man, this is it'" Willis described to Griffin. "[Head coach Jim] Harbaugh said in training camp... he was talking in training camp how we had the best power runner in Frank Gore and how we had the best offensive line. And I'm like, 'this is it.' All this grind, and we're going to win the Super Bowl."
Like many fans, Willis was fully expecting Harbaugh and the 49ers offense calling Gore's number on at least one of those three tries to get into the end zone.
But Willis, as were so many of the Faithful, ended up being disappointed.
"All of a sudden I saw them do a motion or audible … I said, 'I know they're not about to run this play.'"
And yet the Niners did run that play.
"When they ran that last play out of all plays they could run, I said, 'wow,'" Willis lamented.
Us, too, Patrick. Us, too.
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