Just about every sporting event has a turning point where momentum swings from one team to the other.
In Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2 in Miami Gardens, Florida, the 49ers had a grip on the game, leading the Kansas City Chiefs by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter.
Coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers practically could feel the Lombardi Trophy in their hands. But in the blink of an eye, the Chiefs swung the game and reeled off 21 unanswered points to win 31-20.
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On a recent episode of the "Chris Simms Unbuttoned" podcast, Shanahan was asked when his "oh no" moment happened against the Chiefs.
"Right when they got that third-and 15, because I thought it was over to me if they didn't get that," Shanahan told Simms. "And right when they got that, I knew it wasn't over. I knew it was a game.
"When you can have two possessions with no worry about the time -- like, the clock isn't a deal to me -- and it would have been three possessions if they didn't get that first down. And that's when the clock was a deal. But once they got that, I was like, 'All right, this is a game now.' "
San Francisco 49ers
With just over seven minutes left, the Chiefs faced a third-and-15 at their own 35-yard line. A stop by the 49ers meant the Chiefs likely would have punted, allowing Shanahan and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to milk a few minutes off the clock.
Instead, eventual Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes hit wide receiver Tyreek Hill for a 44-yard gain. Kansas City scored four plays later to cut its deficit to 20-17.
The 49ers still had a chance to ice the game on their next possession, but the Chiefs forced a three-and-out, got the ball back and scored again to take the lead.
"They scored, and we had to convert the next, and on a second-and-6, they brought a SAM-MIKE corner blitz into our run, and we pulled it and threw an RPO, and Chris Jones tipped it," Shanahan said. "We went to third-and-6 -- we had to convert that to stay on the field to make it tough -- and then we missed the third down. So it was that tipped ball on second-and-6, and then the third down that we missed, and that's when I was like, 'All right, the momentum has completely changed now.' ”
“We could have ended it. We had [George] Kittle uncovered, and Chris Jones made a hell of a play and tipped it. They brought the SAM-MIKE corner blitz to a 3-by-1 slot and we flooded the other way, which you can't cover all that -- Kittle was uncovered -- and he just got his hands up and tipped it. And then we didn't convert the third down, and that's when I was like, 'All right, now the momentum has changed.' Because now it's just one score, and they are moving."
The 49ers had chances to steal momentum back, but they never managed to recover from that one Mahomes-to-Hill play.
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Six months later, Shanahan and the 49ers are out to redeem themselves and bring back the elusive sixth Lombardi Trophy to the Bay Area. It won't be easy, though. Mahomes signed a massive half-billion dollar contract extension this month, and the Chiefs are just as strong as they were last season.
If the 49ers and Chiefs happen to meet in Super Bowl LV in February, you can bet that Shanahan will do whatever it takes to keep momentum on his side.
[49ERS INSIDER PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode]