49ers’ Kyle Shanahan admits to Super Bowl PTSD while watching Chiefs tape

While it is true that Sunday’s Week 7 meeting will not technically be a continuation of the previous games between the two teams, another 49ers loss would certainly not be a good look for Shanahan and his team.

San Francisco and Kansas City have only met four times since Shanahan became the 49ers’ head coach prior to the 2017 season, and unfortunately for him, Reid and the Chiefs have gotten the better of him and the Niners in each of those four clashes.

Back in Week 3 of the 2018 season, the first such game between the Shanahan-led 49ers and Reid’s Chiefs, Kansas City clobbered the Niners, who trailed 35-10 at halftime and never was within one score after the first quarter.

The next meeting was the aforementioned 2020 Super Bowl, a heartbreaking end to San Francisco’s season considering the team led 20-10 at the end of the third quarter only to lose 31-20 after a Chiefs fourth-quarter comeback. Unfortunately for Shanahan, this game also, in some ways, began a narrative that he could not win the big one because Shanahan had also been the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, which the New England Patriots came back to win despite trailing 28-3 in the second half.

The last time the teams played in the regular season, the Chiefs again walloped the Niners; two years ago, Kansas City erased a first-quarter deficit and dominated the second half. After trailing 10-0 early in the opening quarter, the Chiefs took a 14-13 lead into halftime. And after the break, it was all Chiefs, who outscored San Francisco 30-10 to win 44-23.

And of course, the last time the teams played was in February when the 49ers again took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter only to see the lead — and eventually the game — slip away from them. Harrison Butker made a game-tying field goal in the final seconds of regulation, and in overtime, the 49ers controversially opted to take the ball first and ultimately settled for a field goal. On the ensuing possession, Mahomes led Kansas City down the field before finishing the drive and the game off with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman to win 25-22.

More than eight months later, the two teams are set to meet again. The Chiefs are coming off of their bye week with a perfect 5-0 record, while the 49ers have see-sawed their way to a 3-3 mark.

Kickoff in Santa Clara on Sunday is set for 3:25 p.m. CT and 1:25 p.m PT.