The San Francisco 49ers are still nursing wounds from their Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs eight months ago.
As they gear up for a regular season rematch in Week 7, the sting of defeat remains sharp.
Reviewing footage of Chris Jones wreaking havoc, Patrick Mahomes weaving his magic, and Travis Kelce delivering in clutch moments during that 25-22 overtime heartbreaker isn’t easy for the Niners.
Even Jerry Rice, the 49ers legend and three-time Super Bowl champion, recently chimed in on what his former team needs to do.
“It starts this weekend. We have the Chiefs coming to town. We’ve got to get over that hurdle. We’ve got to beat the Chiefs. It’s the same scenario as when Dallas kept coming to San Francisco and kept beating us, they would just take your heart,” Rice said on FOX Sports Radio.
Rice emphasized the importance of the game going forward.
“Once we beat the Chiefs, then we can start taking it one game at a time and try to get to the playoffs, then get to the Super Bowl. But it starts this week,” the Hall of Fame wide receiver said.
The odds seem stacked against San Francisco, as Kansas City is coming off a Week 6 bye, while the Niners only had a mini bye after playing on “Thursday Night Football.”
Add to that an impressive 21-4 post-bye week record for Chiefs head coach Andy Reid during his NFL career, and the 49ers face an uphill battle.
But at this point, Kyle Shanahan’s squad would welcome a win against anyone.
That’s precisely the mindset their head coach wants them to adopt as they try again to get past their nemeses.
