Steve Young Reflects on the 49ers' Wasted Opportunity to win the Super Bowl
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Steve Young Reflects on the 49ers' Wasted Opportunity to win the Super Bowl

You have to wonder if the 49ers will be able to get back to the Super Bowl in 2024 given how they squandered the perfect chance to do so in 2023. It is something that Steve Young recently questioned and reflected on.

Jose Luis Sanchez III

Jan 7, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Steve Young attends the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and
Jan 7, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Steve Young attends the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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One of the main reasons the Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was heartbreaking for the San Francisco 49ers was because of how glowing of an opportunity it was.

The 49ers were facing the Chiefs who were not at their peak and had a plethora of chances to pull away in that game to win it. 2023 was also an incredibly dominant year for the 49ers. The momentum they had coming out of their Bye week was phenomenal.

And then, that momentum became lost going into the playoffs and was never felt again, especially in the Super Bowl. It is something that Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young recently reflected on with bay area radio station 95.7 The Game.

"The most pressure was last year, right? Because last year the Rams are down, the whole division is down, Seahawks are down, Cardinals are way down," said Young. "In the playoffs, you play a Packers team that's been middling the whole time, you got an upstart Lions squad. And you're like 'That's how we get to the Super Bowl?' And then you play a down-year Chiefs team. Of all the times you're set up to do it, that was it.

"But since the Ravens at Christmas, we just weren't the same. And we held Patrick Mahomes to 19 points. If you were to tell me Patrick Mahomes won't score three touchdowns, we're not going to win that game? We're not going to walk over the Packers, we're not going to walk over the Lions? Things were haywire from Christmas on and that's why last year was the time with the best roster in football to go get it done."

Young is absolutely correct. The 49ers completely fumbled their best chance at winning a Super Bowl. The NFC West was middling, the NFC was middling, and so were the Chiefs. Yet, the 49ers couldn't seize the opportunity.

They will not get a more perfect opportunity than that, which is why it can be tough to imagine them returning to the Super Bowl in 2024. Every team in the NFC is getting stronger and you have to wonder about the emotional setback the 49ers endured from their heartbreak.

2024 will reveal if the 49ers are suffering from a hangover or if they can use their losses as fuel to push them forward.

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Jose Luis Sanchez III

JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ III

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.

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