One Stat Highlights 49ers' Brutal Fourth-Quarter Struggles Under Kyle Shanahan

The 49ers lost 28–18 to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl LVIII rematch game on Sunday.

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan stands on the sidelines during a game. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers came up short in the Super Bowl LVIII rematch vs. the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and a lot of their struggles showed up in the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs scored their third touchdown of the day to start the fourth quarter, putting them up by nine points at 21–12. The 49ers answered by quarterback Brock Purdy throwing an interception to end their drive. The Chiefs responded by scoring another touchdown to go up 28–12 with three minutes left of the game. Purdy scored a touchdown for the 49ers with one minute left in the game, but it wasn't enough to capture a win.

This fourth quarter failure on the 49ers' part wasn't unique by any means in recent San Francisco games. NFL Research released a statistic about the 49ers' offensive struggles in the fourth quarter specifically under Kyle Shanahan, who's been the head coach since 2017.

Since Shanahan's been in charge, the 49ers are 0–40 when they trail by at least eight points in the fourth quarter. They're the only NFL team to not tally a win in this scenario in this span.

49ers are now 0-40 (including playoffs) when trailing by eight-plus points at any point in fourth quarter under Kyle Shanahanhttps://t.co/oGPRuaa3sw pic.twitter.com/JgGpVxjw1C

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) October 21, 2024

This stat includes the 49ers' playoff games, which happens to have their Super Bowl LIV loss to the Chiefs on the list. Kansas City won 31–20, with three of those touchdown scores coming in the fourth quarter. The 49ers couldn't answer any of the touchdowns.

This is something Shanahan definitely will want to work on with his team, which is now 3–4 this season. The 49ers face the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday Night Football in Week 8.

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