The San Francisco 49ers are repeating history. In 2019, the Niners clinched the NFC’s No. 1 seed and made it to Super Bowl LIV only to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs. The following season, they finished in last place in the NFC West with a 6-10 record.
San Francisco managed to recover from their Super Bowl hangover to make another run in 2023, but they once again fell short against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. Once again, they followed that up with another six win season, finishing fourth in the NFC West.
With their reign as the defending NFC champions nearing its end, the disappointment in the Niners’ locker room is tangible. After the team’s final regular season game, San Francisco defensive end Nick Bosa admitted that it’s hard to look his teammates in the faces after a poor performance.
“It’s hard to look guys in the faces as the leader on the team and that’s the product that we kept putting out game after game," Bosa said Sunday, via Sports Illustrated. "It’s pretty embarrassing.”
George Kittle disagreed with Nick Bosa’s comments after disappointing season
San Francisco tight end George Kittle was asked about Bosa’s comments on Monday, and he made it clear that he didn’t agree with his teammate’s perspective.
“I can look all my teammates in the face,” Kittle told reporters, per KNBR. “I put my all out there. A lot of the guys, they put their all out there as well. I have no shame in that. You can go check the tape, and if you're okay with your resume which is on the tape, then you should be okay with your season.”
The 49ers have made four NFC Championship Game appearances in the past six seasons, with their two losing seasons coming immediately after their two Super Bowl losses. San Francisco has been close to obtaining their sixth Lombardi Trophy, but it has eluded their grasp in the franchise’s past three Super Bowl appearances.
The team has struggled to cope with the shortened offseason, increased pressure and emotions that come along with a championship loss, and the most recent Super Bowl heartbreak caused at least one of the team’s star players to feel depressed. Only three teams — the 1971 Dallas Cowboys, 1972 Miami Dolphins and 2018 New England Patriots — followed up a Super Bowl defeat with a Super Bowl victory in the following season.
The 49ers will look to bounce back in 2025, but their core group of star players is only getting older, and the team has been able to get by with massive contracts due to quarterback Brock Purdy’s rookie contract. The seventh-round pick is due for a contract extension this offseason, and the team will likely have to cut spending in other areas to make enough space for his deal.