Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
San Francisco 49ers tackle Trent Williams has had ample time to reflect on the Super Bowl 58 defeat in Las Vegas. Looking back on his 2023 campaign, he refuses to label the season a failure, instead focusing on the positives of his team's valiant effort.
"That's the biggest loss you can take, but at the end of the day, you look at it for what it is," Williams said on "The Shop" podcast, according to Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area. "I'm a realist. There were two teams left out of 32 teams. Two teams fighting for that one trophy. Yeah, it sucks, but you got to look back and say, at the end of the day, it was a successful season. I used to think, just get me to the Super Bowl! I don't care if we win or lose. I just wanted to feel that atmosphere. I had never won a playoff game in the first 10 years of my career.
"So to even see and think about the Super Bowl, the NFC Championship -- I just want to feel it. I put so much into this game, I sacrificed so much. I haven't felt the pinnacle yet. I wanted to be there. I just wanted to experience it. Then when you get there, you understand it's just another football game, and now, you want to win that game as bad as ever.
"I take it in strides. I done had obstacles and I think that's just another one of them."
Williams and the 49ers have put the loss behind them and are focused on rebounding from the gut-wrenching overtime defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs. The team's sights remain fixed on that elusive sixth championship for the organization.
A 2020 trade sent Williams from Washington to San Francisco, and the veteran offensive lineman has spent the past four seasons with the Bay Area team. The 11-time Pro Bowler has earned first-team All-Pro honors in each of the past three seasons.
Nobody's perfect. Did you find a mistake in this article? Report it.
Comments
Do not use the comments to notify us of errors in the article. Editors may not see it. Instead, report errors here.
More San Francisco 49ers News
Fred Warner reveals 49ers' offseason focus for 2024 success
By David Bonilla
May 23
Three months after a tough Super Bowl loss, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner is energized and focused, gearing up for the 2024 season with renewed determination.
Warner has been making his media rounds this week, appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio to discuss his team's mindset as they aim to bounce back from another gut-wrenching defeat. The linebacker expressed newfound enthusiasm for the upcoming season.
"The offseason is critical, especially after the season that we had, where we did come up short," Warner said. "You've got to be really, really thoughtful about your offseason and making sure that you're fully recovered, not only just physically, but mentally and emotionally, from how draining that is.
"And I feel like I'm as rejuvenated and
ESPN: 49ers have best chance to win Super Bowl LIX
By David Bonilla
May 30
The San Francisco 49ers were the NFL's top team last season, according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI). However, the Kansas City Chiefs ultimately took home the Lombardi Trophy.
The FPI is ESPN's ratings and projection model for the NFL, factoring in win totals from ESPN BET, each team's schedule, roster strength, and other metrics. Entering this season, the FPI once again favors the Bay Area team, giving the 49ers a 16 percent chance to win Super Bowl LIX. The Chiefs come in second with a 12 percent chance.
"The San Francisco 49ers might have lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs, but they enter 2024 as the best team in football and favorites to win Super Bowl LIX, according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI)," explained ESPN's Seth Walder. "The
Vernon Davis weighs in on 49ers' Super Bowl chances
By David Bonilla
May 26
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to rebound from a heartbreaking Super Bowl defeat and return to the NFL's big game in the upcoming season. The road won't be easy; getting there once, much less twice in a row, is challenging.
The Kansas City Chiefs accomplished that feat, beating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII and then, in February, the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Their journey was an uphill battle. Kansas City won the AFC West but entered the postseason as the third seed. They had to knock off the top two seeds on their way to the Super Bowl.
The 49ers overcame adversity differently. They were the top seed in the NFC but had to mount comebacks in each of their playoff victories leading up to their clash with the Chiefs.
Former 49ers
49ers' Christian McCaffrey driven to redeem costly Super Bowl mistake
By David Bonilla
May 26
A segment of the San Francisco 49ers fanbase still blames running back Roger Craig for the team's failure to reach a third consecutive Super Bowl. Craig once called it the worst moment of his professional career.
"I've had a lot of highs and lows, but this is the lowest ever,'' Craig said at the time. "I never dreamed I would make a fumble in a spot like that. This is like a nightmare for a running back."
Craig was referring to his fumble in the closing minutes of the NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants, which unceremoniously ended San Francisco's 1990 season and crushed all hopes of the NFL's first-ever three-peat.
Christian McCaffrey, often likened to a modern-day Craig, is a versatile running back who can dominate both through the
