San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan admits watching a re-run of the Super Bowl LVIII defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs caused a little ‘post-traumatic stress” but insists it carries no bearing on Sunday’s re-match.
The 49ers still carry the scars of the 25-22 loss in February but with their season in the balance at 3-3, there is no time for moping around and Shanahan said all focus now is on getting a win at Levi’s Stadium.
Let’s keep it rolling. pic.twitter.com/C0rcvGfuXU
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 16, 2024
He said: “I think everyone understands that we’ve lost two Super Bowls to them so I mean that can give you a little post-traumatic stress when you turn on the tape.
“But I think that’s human nature. You’ve got to make sure you don’t get caught up in that. This game has nothing to do with past games. That was last year.
“We’re playing a really good AFC opponent. We’re .500 right now. We want to stay on top of our division and get a win. You think about that stuff going into it but in terms of the way it plays out in the game, it really has no correlation and you try to make sure that it doesn’t.”
The Chiefs are bang in form
The Chiefs, who have won three Super Bowls in four years, keep rolling on and have started the season 5-0. They also hold a 4-0 record against the Niners since 2017.
San Francisco’s chances of overturning the record books won’t be helped by a crippling injury list that has seen them lose the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Javon Hargrave and Dre Greenlaw for parts of the season.
It’s the emotional scar which could prove the biggest hurdle, however.
“It’s definitely a little emotional, but at this point it’s just a game,” defensive end Nick Bosa said.
“We’re just looking at the tape, trying to learn from it. A lot of similarities from last year, a few new guys, but really good defense and offense. They obviously have [Patrick] Mahomes back there, so always dangerous.”
