49ers praise Brock Purdy, bemoan 'self-inflicted wounds' in Super Bowl 58 loss.

— Despite the season ending short of their goal, the San Francisco 49ers proved on the big stage that they are a gold mine of talent.

They lost Super Bowl 58 to the Kansas City Chiefs 25-22 on Sunday in only the second overtime game in Super Bowl history. The 49ers dominated the regular season so much they had a league-high nine Pro Bowlers, five of which represented their high-powered offense.

Few units have as many household names with quarterback Brock Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, left tackle Trent Williams and tight end George Kittle.

The star of the night for San Francisco at the first Super Bowl in Las Vegas wasn’t any of them. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings became only the second player in Super Bowl history to score a passing touchdown (a trick play to McCaffrey) and catch one (a throw from Purdy where he shook off two defenders after the catch). Nick Foles is the other to do so when the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl 52.

Great Admiration for Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy

While Purdy is known as Mr. Irrelevant because he was the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Jennings was also selected in the seventh round at the No. 217 pick two years earlier. Both put their talents on display in the big game.

The 49ers also had high praise for Purdy, who played in his first Super Bowl. He became a national sensation last year when he stepped in as the third-string quarterback and led the team to the NFC championship. Among his admirers is retired Super Bowl champion Drew Brees.

In his own Super Bowl, Purdy went 23-of-38 passing for 255 yards and threw the touchdown to Jennings. He opened the season with five straight games without throwing an interception and protected the ball again in the title matchup.

“I thought he did a great job,” Kittle said. “Just throughout the game, I haven’t watched the tape or anything like that, but Brock seemed like his normal self. Delivering the ball when he needed to, put it in tight coverages, I think Brock played a hell of a game.”

Another aspect that potentially adds to San Francisco’s success is accountability. Like Warner taking ownership of the defense allowing Patrick Mahomes to throw the game-winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman. The drive featured two third-down conversions and a fourth-and-1 where Travis Kelce was set in motion and Mahomes faked the handoff to Isiah Pacheco, then jetted forward to move the chains.

McCaffrey fumbled the ball on the first drive of the game. He finished with 22 carries for 80 rushing yards and caught all eight passes thrown to him, including the score from Jennings, but the turnover lingered with him.

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