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The San Francisco 49ers are 60 minutes away from ending a Super Bowl championship drought that spans nearly three decades and is older than their starting quarterback. The 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will meet in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday -- their second meeting for the Lombardi Trophy in four seasons -- when Patrick Mahomes will either confirm the Chiefs as the NFL's newest dynasty, or Kyle Shanahan will guide the Niners to glory for the first time since the 1994 season.
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Oddsmakers have touted the 49ers as 2.5-point favorites against the reigning champion Chiefs, but that will be of little to no comfort for Shanahan -- who is hoping that his third Super Bowl appearance will prove to be the charm.
Shanahan: 28-3 hurt, but Super Bowl LIV hurt more
Much of the narrative this postseason has centered on Kansas City's difficult road back to the Super Bowl -- and how upset wins in Buffalo and Baltimore perhaps portend what the Chiefs will do in Las Vegas on Sunday. But Shanahan's 49ers needed rallies at Levi's Stadium to eliminate the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions to win the NFC and give the coach another shot in the Super Bowl.
Shanahan was the Falcons' offensive coordinator when Atlanta took on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI at the end of the 2016 season. That game retains a special place in NFL lore, as Tom Brady's Patriots came back from a 25-point deficit to win 34-31 in the first Super Bowl that required overtime. But if that wasn't enough for Shanahan, his 49ers blew a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead against Mahomes' Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV to lose 31-20 -- another painful loss, just three years later.
Speaking to Peter King of NBC Sports, Shanahan said losing to Kansas City four seasons ago remains a harder loss to digest than a game now colloquially known as "28-3."
"If you tell me before (Super Bowl LI) you're going to blow a 28-3 lead and lose, I'd be like, 'Do I ever come out of my room again?' You realize, this is sports. Any one of 20 different plays would've changed that game," Shanahan said. "But I also understand that the quarterback on the other side (Tom Brady) did the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. He performed surgery for an entire second half."
Can Purdy take the Niners to the promised land?
This time around, Shanahan will have a quarterback who "makes plays when they're not there" and has defied all the odds to enjoy success early in his NFL career. Brock Purdy, the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, will be the man trusted to lead San Francisco to victory in the Super Bowl -- despite an inconsistent postseason to this point.
Although his accuracy has wavered, Purdy's toughness and ability to make clutch plays with his feet as well as his arm ultimately made the difference in the 24-21 win over Green Bay in the divisional round, as well as the 34-31 win over Detroit on conference championship weekend. Purdy led the Niners' 17-point comeback in the second half against the Lions, tossing a 51-yard completion to Brandon Aiyuk in the third-quarter before finding the same receiver for a six-yard touchdown.
Running backs Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell then did the rest, scoring in short-yardage situations thanks to Purdy's heroics throughout the second half in Santa Clara.