The San Francisco 49ers have a storied history of success, but certain plays linger in fans' minds as moments they'd want to redo. There is Roger Craig's fumble in the NFC Championship Game on January 20, 1991, preventing the 49ers from becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Jim Harbaugh likely regrets not calling Frank Gore's number in the closing minutes of Super Bowl XLVII.
"Coach called a different play," Gore said in 2017 about the loss that still haunts him. "You know how I am. I'm going to go with what our coach called. We had a bunch of guys who could make plays. He called what he called and it didn't work."
Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports recently examined every NFL team's biggest do-over of all-time and picked a much more recent decision for the 49ers—head coach Kyle Shanahan's choice in February to receive the football in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Kyle Shanahan surprised everyone when he opted to put his offense on the field to start the second overtime game in Super Bowl history," DeArdo wrote. "San Francisco managed to get a field goal on the drive, but then lost the game moments later when the Chiefs scored a touchdown on their ensuing possession."
It was the second time quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs had delivered a gut-wrenching defeat to the 49ers in the Super Bowl, with the first occurring four years earlier in Super Bowl LIV.
"For a while, it looked like Shanahan's gamble might pay off as the 49ers appeared poised to win the game on a walk-off touchdown," DeArdo continued. "But after zipping to the Chiefs' 9-yard-line, the 49ers' offense had to settle for a field goal after failing to gain a yard on consecutive plays."
Soon after, Shanahan and the 49ers offense watched from the sidelines as Mahomes completed a pass to wide receiver Mecole Hardman for the game-winning touchdown, securing Kansas City back-to-back championships.
Shanahan later explained that the 49ers had discussed their overtime strategy in advance and concluded it was crucial to have the ball on a potential third possession.
"None of us have a ton of experience of it, but we went through all the analytics and talked with those guys and we just thought it'd be better," Shanahan said. "We wanted the ball third. If both teams matched and scored, we wanted to be the ones who had the chance to go win and got that field goal. So we knew we had to hold them to at least a field goal and if we did, then we thought it was in our hands."
The decision also made some sense, considering that regulation ended with an exhausted 49ers defense on the field.
"I knew that we were gonna do what we did because our defense just got ran up the field over the course of six minutes," tight end George Kittle said in June. "I think they're exhausted, so I was like, 'There's no way we're going to put them back on the field.' You can't.
"I feel like we all knew what we were going to do, but I'm just going to do whatever the coach asked me to do. Whatever he says, whether we go offense or defense first, I'm just going to go out there and do my job."
The overtime decision wasn't the only potential do-over in the Super Bowl. DeArdo pointed to a play late in the game that could have changed the outcome.
"Another situation Shanahan would likely like to do over occurred on the 49ers' final drive of regulation," DeArdo commented. "Facing a third-and-4 on the Chiefs' 35, Brock Purdy attempted a low-percentage pass to Jauan Jennings that fell incomplete, thus forcing San Francisco to settle for a go-ahead field goal. Jennings played well that night, but it's safe to assume that Shanahan should have called Christian McCaffrey's number in that situation."
