Going into Super Bowl LIV with a 13-3 record in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers seemed to be destined to join the Patriots and the Steelers on six wins each.

They brought a combination of a brilliant rushing game and by one of the best defenses in the league to the game, continuing their excellent run of form in the playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.

Both were defeated by 17 points, setting up their shot at the Super Bowl. Standing in their way, the Kansas City Chiefs and their 24-year-old star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is someone we described as a standard-bearer for dual-threat quarterbacks and he rose to the occasion to secure victory.

His opposite number, Jimmy Garoppolo, has been credited with helping the 49ers achieve 13-3 after finishing the year before 4-12. However, Garoppolo wasn’t quite in the same league as his opposite number Mahomes ahead of Super Bowl, and so it proved. At first, it looked as though Garoppolo and the 49ers were going to make history. Mahomes visibly struggled on the opening drive of the game; he failed to complete both of his pass attempts and that restricted the Chiefs to punts.

The 49ers controlled three-quarters of the game; facing the final quarter they were 20-10 ahead and needed smart management and clever football to usher in their sixth Super Bowl. Instead, Garoppolo and young coach Kyle Shanahan let them down, big time. They came out on top in the first three-quarters courtesy of their four-man rush, allowing the remaining seven to cover. They held firm against the Chief’s ground play and took everything going deep. Mahomes looked out of sorts and the 49ers were on their way.

Shanahan mismanaged the game horribly though; he botched the clock at the end of the first half and failed to implement the rushing game down the stretch. The time that would have cost, five or six minutes, could have secured them the Super Bowl.

Garoppolo played his part too. He looked nervy and despite being a key component of the 49ers route to Miami, he didn’t seem to have his coaches trust. Like Shanahan, he mismanaged the clock horribly. Finally, he missed a great chance to win the game late on, overthrowing for Emmanuel Sanders who was in for what would have been a game-winning touchdown.

When it came to turning the game, Mahomes had the answer. The Chiefs had a third and 15 in their own territory and Mahomes managed to find an open Hill for a 44-yard gain, that play turned the tide, it gave the Chiefs the opening they craved, and the 49ers had no answer. Two plays later, the sensational quarterback found Sammy Watkins for a 38-yard gain. Three plays after that, he had thrown another touchdown and handed the Super Bowl to the Chiefs. The Sports Illustrated reports that his exploits earned him the title of MVP, the youngest incumbent of the award in Super Bowl history.

The 49ers need not despair; they’re still the top team in the NFC Conference. Bwin puts them narrowly ahead of New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles to retain the Conference in 2020/21, possibly setting up another showdown with Mahomes and the Chiefs. If they do, they will need to learn the lesson of Super Bowl LIV whilst retaining the good aspects of their play.

The 49ers lost the Super Bowl by their own doing, carrying such a strong lead into the final quarter of the game. They needed to show character, cunning, and sense–instead, they crumbled under the pressure. Garoppolo will shoulder some of the blame, but Kyle Shanahan also must accept his role in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.