San Francisco 49ers players would probably love it if they never had to see another cut up or highlight from Super Bowl LIV. The team was just minutes away from celebrating a championship when a fourth-quarter collapse spoiled its victory hopes.
It does have to watch the film, though. Head coach Kyle Shanahan recently walked his players through the plays that could have changed the outcome.
Offensive tackle Trent Williams wasn't with the team for that game in February, but looking around the room, he could feel players cringe when they saw plays from that game. They know how close they were, and they know there were chances to finish.
"That's what crushes us so bad," said wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on Saturday. "That's all you can ask for, chances, and we had about three, I felt, to put the game away, offense- and defense-wise. We just didn't finish."
The 49ers' other offensive tackle, Mike McGlinchey, was asked on Sunday about having to rewatch clips from the heartbreaking defeat.
"I'm not entirely sure, but that might have been the first time we were all together and saw that tape," McGlinchey said. "We've obviously all watched it on our own, and you have to watch it to get your process of moving on.
"I read somewhere on Twitter or something that you could feel the tension in the room when those clips came on, and I think that's 100 percent accurate. I don't love it. I hate it when those clips come on. I hate it when you have to go back to those things to relive those moments.
"I think there was a certain feel — it's like a hot air that goes into the room — when you're just sitting there and everybody just kind of sits up a little bit more, everybody locks onto the screen a little bit more, and we talk through those things.
"I think it was casual, but I truly do believe, in the last seven months, that's the first time we've ever watched it together as a team, and it sucks. Watching that game never feels good, no matter how well you think you played as an individual, no matter how well you think you played in crucial moments. The one or two plays you remember that stick out that you could have done a little bit better, they hurt."
McGlinchey notes that he thinks that sick-to-your-stomach feeling is a good thing because it can serve as motivation to return to the Super Bowl and make things right.
Said linebacker Fred Warner on Sunday: "Last year we did make it to the Super Bowl, and it was just those small little moments that, had we made one or two plays, we win that game."
The 49ers carry a lot of scars from that game, and that's kept them focused during training camp. There is an unfinished-business mentality everywhere you look.
"Football is a game that gives you a lot of scars, but it's a matter of how you come back and use those scars to learn, to grown, and then ultimately never let them happen again," McGlinchey added. "And I think that's the message that this team has felt since the night of February 2nd or whenever the game was."
