NFL Rumors: Chiefs Defensive End Grills Garoppolo But Is He To Blame?

The Kansas City Chiefs did it again, overcoming a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead to pull the rug from under the San Francisco 49ers. It was another dramatic late fightback for the Chiefs who won their first Super Bowl title since their triumph over the Minnesota Vikings back in 1970.

Seeing the Chiefs rise from the grave is nothing new. They have shown the ability to do so in past NFL games and it seemed fitting to have one last-ditch in the biggest game of the season. Patrick Mahomes lived up to his billing, anchoring the Kansas City uprising.

"We never lost faith. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down and we found a way to win in the end," Mahomes said to reporters.

And while the Chiefs are savoring their Super Bowl LIV victory, the 49ers are getting their share of criticism for letting the game slip away. In general, it was the Niners themselves to blame. However, there are some who have singled out quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as well.

Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark criticized Garoppolo for his decision making. According to NBC Sports Bay Area, the 28-year-old had a part in that. One the most crucial errors he had was that overthrown pass to Emmanuel Sanders which would have been the go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes.

Garoppolo also had one poor decision made in the first half. That was an interception made by Bashaud Breeland. In all, however, it was not the 49ers quarterback's decision-making that led to San Francisco's downfall. There were plenty of things to consider like questionable or missed calls by NFL game officials.

Also, it should be stressed that it was Shanahan and not Garoppolo calling the plays out there. The 49ers were just playing conservatively and it would only be a matter of time before that backfired on them.

Regardless, Shanahan believes his team can recover from this Super Bowl debacle. The sudden turn of events may be a hard pill to swallow but all they can do is accept the defeat and try to return with a vengeance next NFL season.

"We'll be fired up for next year. We're going to rest a little bit and get over this, but we will be very fired up," said Shanahan in a report from Agence France-Presse via Yahoo Sports.