By the time the 49ers are in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl they’ll be almost fully prepared to play in the NFL’s championship game despite there being a week until the game kicks off.
With the added responsibility that comes with the big game, head coach Kyle Shanahan he learned that the week off between the NFC championship and the Super Bowl is essential for pre-game preparation. That means when they leave Santa Clara for Southern Nevada, the 49ers will have a full game plan installed.
“You try to get as much in this first week as possible,” Shanahan said in his Thursday press conference. “When you get out there, we go through it again. But it is different. Our Monday’s totally different with the media deal. Our routine’s off because you’ve got to do these press conferences every day. So you get about an hour off from all your normal times. So when you usually do red zone and stuff, you’re two hours behind. A little more tired. All that stuff adds up. If you put stuff off to that week and think it’s going to be a normal week you’re going to get to that Thursday or Friday and not quite feel as comfortable.”
Shanahan indicated he was happy with the team’s preparation ahead of Super Bowl LIV, which the 49ers lost to the Chiefs to cap the 2019 season. However, that group had far less Super Bowl experience than this year’s team. 11 players on the roster were with the club the last time they went, and that’s something Shanahan thinks could be helpful.
“I think all those guys for the most part were young guys and it was their first one,” Shanahan said. “I think always when you go your first time you experience a lot of stuff, but I think when you go your second time, all that stuff you experienced, it’s about one thing. It’s about what happens in those three hours. I think it’s real cool for those guys who have gone to be able to talk to players who it’s their first time kind of help them not get caught up in stuff. Especially guys who are rookies and guys like [WR] Deebo [Samuel] and things like that. So, having experience always helps.”
While the 49ers’ experience may help them, they’re going against perhaps the most experienced group in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs where head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have been to three of the last five Super Bowls.
Ultimately, as Shanahan noted, all that matters is what happens between kickoff and the clock hitting 0:00. Preparation and experience help, but the 49ers will need to be at their very best if they’re going to knock off a Chiefs club that’s dominated the decade so far.
