49ers in state of ‘disbelief' after losing 2020 Super Bowl to Chiefs

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Nick Bosa spent the Super Bowl LIV's final seconds hunched over on the 49ers' bench, a gloved hand over his eyes while tears streamed down his face. The NFL's defensive rookie of the year dominated all game but couldn’t single-handedly lift his team over the Kansas City Chiefs and all-world quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Emotions were raw and unfiltered, the sadness so sudden after the 49ers blew a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead and left Hard Rock Stadium with a heartbreaking 31-20 Super Bowl defeat. The outpouring was long gone by the time Bosa reached a postgame press conference room with 10 podiums lining a circular space. Bosa’s name was announced and media came running away from lesser knowns to speak with the No. 2 overall draft pick, hoping he would provide answers to what went so wrong so fast.

The edge rusher didn’t have much to say. He put consecutive sentences together only twice while sitting under an unforgiving spotlight, with ice wrapped around his left shoulder and his sullen body language revealing the disappointment felt inside.

Most responses were one word or two, illustrating the disappointment of every star 49er forced to face the media late into Sunday night.

How was the journey to the Super Bowl?: “It was a lot of fun.”

Was Mahomes a totally different quarterback down the stretch?: “No.”

Did you have your way with Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher: "Yes.”

How do you feel right now?: “Pissed.”

That describes the tone of most exchanges with the press. Even Richard Sherman abandoned eloquence in favor of short, repetitive responses about how the defense didn’t make enough plays.

Emmanuel Sanders cut his press conference short, leaving after two answers saturated in frustration. Even Joe Staley was more gruff than usual after losing his second Super Bowl.

This wasn’t about guys being jerks. It was about a roster that truly believed this season was going to end in a championship. It was about the shell-shocked disappointment of falling just short. The 49ers believed they would win before the game, during the good times early and after falling behind late. Past experience told them so. They had, after all, won so many games in dramatic fashion. They were convinced this was going to be another end for the ages.

A final comeback drive quickly went nowhere. That’s when reality set in. There would be no fairytale ending, no red and gold confetti, no hoisting trophies and parades down Market Street.

Few could find the right words, but tight end George Kittle encapsulated the situation well. The 49ers were in disbelief.

“That’s exactly how it feels – disbelief,” Kittle said. “I thought we answered the call almost every single game this season. I think we lost three games by [seven points or less]. Losing this one, we definitely…our mentality was that we were going to finish this one out. When you don’t do it, you want to look in the mirror and ask why. We’re just going to have to watch the tape and see what happened.”

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That’s all the 49ers can do now that the season’s final chapter has been written.

“I hate losing. Period,” linebacker Kwon Alexander said. “It’s going to sting for a while. … Everybody [in the locker room] was hurting. We put a lot of hard work into this. You just can’t come all the way and end like this. We played hard, but we didn’t finish.”

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