The 49ers made history in their super bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs … for the wrong reason. San Francisco, for the second time in five years, came so close to hoisting the franchise’s sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy but suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs in overtime at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 11.
The 49ers led the Chiefs 16-13 with 11:22 remaining in the fourth quarter and 19-16 with 1:53 remaining in the same quarter before game-tying field goals on both ensuing Chiefs drives.
San Francisco then jumped out to a 22-19 lead in overtime before Kansas City’s eventual game-winning touchdown. The collapse marked the first time in NFL history a team lost after leading twice in the fourth quarter and once in overtime, per Sportradar.
A lot has been made of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s decision to take possession of the ball on the opening drive in overtime, and while many believe it was the wrong choice, some analytics experts admittedly would have made the same decision.
The 49ers had multiple opportunities late in the game to put the Chiefs away, but their failure to do so resulted in a first-of-its-kind loss in NFL history.