5 reasons why 49ers ultimately lost Super Bowl 58 to Chiefs
The Niners suffered yet another brutal Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs, and it'll prompt questions all offseason.
By Peter Panacy
Reason No. 3: Dre Greenlaw's injury
As NBC Sports Bay Area's Donte Whitner pointed out on the postgame broadcast, the loss of linebacker Dre Greenlaw to a serious Achilles tear toward the end of the first half was brutal and "played a significant role."
Greenlaw and fellow linebacker Fred Warner were all over the field up to that point, and one of their top assignments was limiting star tight end Travis Kelce, which was happening so far.
Kelce had only the one catch up to that point, but he certainly was a factor after Greenlaw's injury. The Chiefs began targeting the middle of the field with Greenlaw out of the lineup, and Kelce subsequently ended up with a game-high nine catches for 93 yards.
Had Greenlaw stayed in the game, there's an awfully strong possibility that Kelce wouldn't put up that kind of stat line.
And the game's outcome could have been different, too.