1 - The Key Play Truly Was the Tyreek Hill Bomb
With a 20-10 lead in the 4th quarter, the 49ers had the Chiefs at 3rd and 15 at their own 35 with just over 7 minutes left. The pass rush was there but there was a blown coverage on Tyreek Hill and he put a move on Jimmie Ward.
The pass rush was a half second from a sack but Mahomes got the ball off in time and completed the pass for 44 yards, which led to a touchdown, cutting the lead to 20-17.
If the 49ers were able to make a stop there, they are likely able to kill clock and maybe put up more points. Kansas City had been struggling up to that point and had not made a big play the entire game.
Unfortunately for San Francisco, the Chiefs made the play that changed the game.
2 - The Offense Did Enough to Win Until It Had to Score at the End
After a dreadful offensive pass interference call on George Kittle, which, for the record, appeared to be a very weak one, San Francisco was denied a chance at grabbing a 13-10 lead as the half expired.
Despite that, the 49ers did get a field goal on the first drive of the second half. Fred Warner then got a huge interception and Garoppolo led the 49ers to the one yard line where Raheem Mostert scored, extending the lead to 20-10.
Following another interception, the Niners got to near midfield when Garoppolo was forced out of bounds. The bad part was that he was tossed out of bounds pretty far, which sure looked like unnecessary roughness. That would have put the 49ers in Kansas City territory with a first down. There's no telling how much clock they could have used up and if they could have added more points. It was another judgement call that went Kansas City's way, like they all did today.
3 - In the End, the Defense Appeared to be Unable to Stop the Chiefs When Needed
The pass rush wasn't able to get to Mahomes late in the game and on Kansas City's go-ahead drive and Sammy Watkins beat Richard Sherman for a huge 38-yard gain down to the 10. The Chiefs took a 24-20 lead that they would protect to the end.
4 - Jimmy Garoppolo Could Not Come Up with Late Game Heroics
Faced with the opportunity to go 85 yards with 2:45 left and all three timeouts, he could only get the offense to the Kansas City 49. From there, the 49ers went four and out.
Kansas City's defense tightened up and was able to contain the 49ers offense. It's something that the 49ers will have to improve on next year.
5 - Ultimately, This Was a Great Season
It certainly did not end the way we wanted, but 2019 was phenomenal. The 49ers, in their first season with a healthy Garoppolo, won the NFC West and finally, the NFC.
They have a very young nucleus with a few veterans and they will add talent in the offseason. Rest assured, San Francisco is just getting started!
