If you're going to beat the best, bring your best. The 49ers did not. Kyle Shanahan did not. Brock Purdy did not.
Those two spent an extended time in a one-on-one in front of Purdy's locker after the game; Shanahan speaking, Purdy nodding and listening. It's that relationship — and maybe that relationship alone — that can make this thing work.
But when that head coach makes decisions with a mindset fixated on limiting downside instead of pushing for upside, and that quarterback pushes too hard and throws three interceptions, that pressure will only burst pipes in the moments that really matter. That's exactly what happened Sunday afternoon.
You can blame injuries if you want. But the full-health 49ers didn't beat this Kansas City Chiefs team in the Super Bowl, and Sunday's non-full-health Chiefs waxed them.
This was a matchup against a Chiefs team that, yes, has Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and Andy Reid. But more directly, it's a team that, along with the Mike Macdonald Baltimore Ravens, gave the NFL the blueprint for how to beat them.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo showed it clearly. Press-man coverage. Send pressure. Stack the box and line of scrimmage with physical, powerful players. Multiple teams have ripped off that approach to great success this season.
The narrative was about vanquishing Mahomes, but this was really a chance for Shanahan and Purdy to shine and show they could defeat Spagnuolo's defense. They knew what they were getting. Their own defense held up their end of the bargain. But they couldn't beat Spags.
The lack of Christian McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings and Aiyuk cannot be shrugged off. Deebo Samuel is not in that group for a reason. You need man-beater players to beat man coverage. Ricky Pearsall started well, then got clamped. Jacob Cowing had a nice win that set up a red zone trip. He may need more run.
Pearsall was expected to play a limited role against advantageous matchups from the slot, or as the flanker, but had to play almost every snap. Fatigue and inexperience were obvious, but he didn't separate well for most of the game. I will cut the rookie a bit of slack in his career debut after recovering from a gunshot wound. But he needs to play well, immediately. As Kittle said:
“It’s on our vets to pull them along, whether they’re ready or not."
And as far as injuries are concerned, they are little excuse if your quarterback and offensive coordinator are good enough. The Chiefs were without Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice and Juju Smith-Schuster. Their offensive tackles are terrible. They made it work. They always will because they have perhaps the most talented quarterback of all time and a head coach who is fully sold on his chaos at any and all cost.
But for all the nonsense of the first half, the 49ers were in this game. Down 14-12 thanks to a third cowardly Shanahan decision of the first half — punished rightly by the football gods — to go for an extra point over two-point conversion, the 49ers were driving. The offensive line adjusted at halftime. They were running the ball, for the first time, effectively. Then, with a 3rd-and-6 at the Kansas City 34-yard line, Purdy overthrew Ronnie Bell and got picked off. Purdy took the blame for that throw.
For the 49ers to get the monkey off their back, they needed an excellent game from Purdy. They had to win or stay even in the turnover battle. And they got two... two! interceptions from Mahomes. But Purdy countered with three of his own.
If you take George Kittle's comments as proof of the obvious, Purdy was forcing things.
"He’s giving us chances to make plays and we weren’t taking advantage of those plays," Kittle said. "I haven’t talked to Brock, but it seems like maybe he was trying to force something just trying to give us a little momentum. And you don’t need to. When you’re playing against a defense – the Chiefs are playing at a very high level, you don’t want to force your hand too much. It’s kind of take what they give you, and then stay on the field as long as possible."
The most pressing fear is that this loss derails the 49ers in the same way the 49ers derailed the Philadelphia Eagles last year. San Francisco, now likely without Brandon Aiyuk for the remainder of the season, is without juice, without identity, and desperate.
There is no indication the 49ers will ever beat this Chiefs team. Without Aiyuk, their best man-beater wide receiver, this team will keep struggling to beat teams that rip off their game plan. Can McCaffrey save them? Maybe. Maybe not.
Maybe they can pull off a rally in the second half of the season as was the case in 2021 and 2022. They've certainly bought juice from their myriad wins over the Dallas Cowboys in the past, and a win next week followed by a bye would set the spirits right. At the moment, this season feels a heck of a lot more like 2020 (there's another potential gut-punch Bills game on the schedule, too).
Maybe this team puts it together. Maybe the offense and defense click at the same time. Maybe they develop a clear identity about what this offense is. Maybe it works out despite a brutal second half schedule. That's all this team is right now. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
Even if this team does answer those maybes and gets back to the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs as their opponent, they have given you no reason to believe they will beat them. Too conservative, too inconsistent, too mistake-riddled at exactly the wrong times. The 49ers have not given you reason to believe.