Kurtenbach: Kyle Shanahan played not to lose

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stands on the sidelines during their game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024.

SANTA CLARA – There are so many reasons the 49ers lost to the Chiefs on Sunday. Too many reasons to count, perhaps. Again, it’s only one entry on the laundry list of San Francisco transgressions, but an error in fundamental philosophy—one that has been known for longer than Shanahan has been the Niners’ head coach—is so much harder to fix than anything Brock Purdy or Fred Warner did against the Chiefs.

As such, Shanahan would never do anything like Andy Reid did at the end of the Chiefs’ first possession Sunday: he faked a punt. You have to believe that Reid and the Chiefs noted that. You have to imagine that they loved the decision, too.

It happened again at the end of the second quarter. The Niners had driven from their own 10-yard line to Kansas City’s 5 as the clock ran into the final minute. Kansas City — up 14-3 — was going to receive the second-half kickoff, so the Niners needed to score a touchdown to keep the pressure on them.

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