Three years have passed since Kyle Shanahan and the Atlanta Falcons faltered on football’s biggest stage. The Falcons saw a 28-3 lead evaporate as the Patriots put together the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. Shanahan, then the offensive coordinator of the Falcons, could do nothing about Tom Brady figuring out Atlanta’s defense, but he was in charge of what happened on the other side of the ball.
The rest, as they say, is history: the Patriots forced overtime, where they secured their fifth Super Bowl victory. Shanahan, due to his playcalling in the second half, took the brunt of the blame for the loss. It’s been like a black cloud hanging over him even now that he’s led the 49ers to the Super Bowl as their head coach.
A win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl 54 would do a lot to eliminate that. This is how Shanhan’s Falcons blew it back then, and how he can put all of that behind him for good now.
Shanahan’s playcalling down the stretch let the Patriots come back in Super Bowl 51
It looked like the Falcons were headed for their first Super Bowl win when they went up 28-3 halfway through the third quarter. Then the Patriots starting chipping away at that lead. Other than Atlanta’s defense not being able to get anything done, the mistakes that caused the collapse largely fell on the offensive playcalling. It started when there was a couple minutes left in the third quarter, with the Falcons up 28-9.
Here’s how the Falcons’ final drive in the third quarter went:
- first-and-10 at NE 41: Matt Ryan pass to Austin Hooper for 9 yards
- second-and-1 at NE 32: Holding penalty
- second-and-11 at NE 42: Ryan incomplete to Hooper
- third-and-11 at NE 42: Ryan sacked for -9 yards
The Falcons punted away, and on the ensuing drive, the Patriots kicked a field goal to make it a 28-12 game. It only got worse from there, as the Falcons only took about a minute off the clock before a third-and-1 play with 8:31 to go.
Rather than run the ball with Devonta Freeman, Shanahan dialed up a pass play that saw Ryan get strip-sacked by Dont’a Hightower.
The Patriots recovered the ball at the Atlanta 25-yard and then quickly scored a touchdown and two-point conversion, making it a 28-20 game. Atlanta got the ball back with 5:53 on the clock. Again, instead of running the ball, they came out throwing. It worked well ... at first.
A short pass to Freeman went for 39 yards, and then Julio Jones made an extremely impressive sideline grab to put the Falcons in field goal range. Conservative, situational football isn’t sexy, but it’s what the Falcons needed to do there.
They didn’t. Here’s how that sequence went:
- first-and-10 at NE 22: Freeman rush for -1 yard
- second-and-11 at NE 23: Ryan sacked for -12 yards
- third-and-23 at NE 35: Holding penalty on another pass attempt
- third-and-33 at NE 45: Incomplete pass
Of the calls late in the game, Shanahan most regrets the play that resulted on a sack on second-and-11.
“I wish I didn’t call that play on second-and-11 that led to that sack,” he said recently.
The holding penalty was bad luck, but it was the sack that took the Falcons to the edge of field goal range. That spurred two more passes that lost them even more yards, and the Patriots got the ball back with over three minutes to go.
Brady led them 91 yards down the field for a game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion. The Patriots got the ball first in overtime and scored a touchdown for the 34-28 win.
Shanahan was hired to be the next head coach of the 49ers just a day after the Super Bowl.
Shanahan’s 49ers have been winning by what else? Running the ball
For the first time since Shanahan took over as head coach and playcaller, the 49ers are in the playoffs. It’s fun to point out that the 49ers have called 81 running plays in Shanahan’s first two playoff games since Super Bowl 51, but he’s not doing it because it’s a chance at a do-over. He’s doing it because the 49ers are pretty damn great at running the football.
In the Divisional Round, the 49ers ran the ball 47 times (including quarterback scrambles) for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Tevin Coleman had 105 yards in the 27-10 win over the Vikings. The following week against the Packers, it was the Raheem Mostert show. He had 220 yards and four touchdowns, while the 49ers had 42 total carries for 285 yards.
The 49ers won by double digits both times, despite Jimmy Garoppolo only attempting 27 passes combined.
“If it’s working, you stay with it,” Shanahan said after the 37-20 win in the NFC Championship Game.
Now the 49ers are in the Super Bowl, in large part because of their running game. Despite that, Shanahan still can’t escape criticism for those late-game sequences with the Falcons. Still, he is adamant that it’s not something he spends much time thinking about these days.
Shanahan isn’t completely sold on the idea that he called the wrong plays, either, at least with the benefit of hindsight:
“The way it came down on me personally, I didn’t react to that, I think, the way people would expect, because there were definitely parts in that Super Bowl that I would love to have back and stuff I was very hard on myself, but the whole narrative of if I would’ve just ran it, we would’ve won. I know that wasn’t the case.
“I know what went into that game and all the stuff that happened, so that stuff didn’t bother me. You’ve got to deal with that and listen to other people, but it was nice to be able to move on and move out here and just keep working.
“I’m glad I’m going to get the chance to go back,” he added.
It’s clear that the mistakes hit him hard, but it didn’t have a negative effect on his ability to coach. The 49ers finished the season at 13-3, a huge leap from the 4-12 record they had in 2018.
When the 49ers have won this season, they’ve done it in different ways. The 49ers ranked fifth in DVOA, a Football Outsiders metric that measure’s a team’s efficiency. The offense consistently found ways to score, averaging 29.9 points per game this season. There were contributors all over the field that helped them get there, too.
While the running game has been the reason for their success in the playoffs, that wasn’t always the case in the regular season. Garoppolo tossed four touchdowns in a pivotal shootout win with the Saints. Tight end George Kittle went off for 129 yards and had key blocks against the Packers. Receiver Emmanuel Sanders broke 100 yards in a close win over the Cardinals.
Shanahan’s 49ers have won games with a strong rushing attack, others with a varied passing attack, and others still with elite defensive play (including in the final seconds of a Week 17 matchup, which earned them the all-important No. 1 seed). None of the 49ers’ three losses this season can be blamed on poor game management, either.
Shanahan has proven he’s a good coach all season. But a win in Super Bowl 54 would prove that 28-3 won’t define him or his coaching career.
The Chiefs finished the regular season at 12-4, and were the No. 2 seed in the AFC in the playoffs. Patrick Mahomes and Co. came back from two double-digits deficits to then win by double digits in both the Divisional Round and AFC Championship.
They’re led by Andy Reid, a veteran coach with plenty of wins under his belt but no Super Bowl — and a narrative of his own to overcome. The Chiefs are battle-tested and Reid is an offensive mastermind, so Shanahan will have his hands full in Super Bowl 54.
And while Shanahan’s comments make it clear that he doesn’t need a win in this Super Bowl to get over the Falcons loss because he’s already moved on, not everyone else has. His shortcomings in the Super Bowl will be talked about until he can erase 28-3 from his narrative, and a good way to do that would be a strong coaching performance against Kansas City.