1. This was an easy game to handicap. Not surprisingly, the game was won by the team with a better quarterback. Even though Patrick Mahomes struggled for the first three quarters, he made the big plays in the fourth quarter to win the game while Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t able to counter and overthrew Emmanuel Sanders when he had him open deep for what could have been a game winning score.
2. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t learn any lessons from being the offensive coordinator when Atlanta went through the 28-3 disaster in the Super Bowl. He again showed he doesn’t know how to manage a game, notably at the end of the first half and in the fourth quarter. The 49ers had a 20-17 lead with six minutes left when Raheem Mostert ran five yards on first down to the San Francisco 25. Shanahan then called two pass plays and both were incomplete and the 49ers punted. Shanahan didn’t even seem to understand why he should have called a run on second down. He said it wasn’t about bleeding the clock, but moving the chains. But the 49ers averaged 6.4 yards a carry and a run would have been better shot to move the chains. Shanahan was the goat of the game.
3. There was a lot of chatter after the game that this is the beginning of a dynasty since Mahomes isn’t even in his prime yet. They have a chance but it won’t be easy to win multiple Super Bowls in the salary cap era. The Patriots did it but after winning three in four years, they went a decade before winning three more.
4. General manager John Lynch said after the game the the 49ers will be back. Don’t count on it. Seattle and Atlanta haven’t been back since they flopped on the cusp of Super Bowl wins. And they have to worry whether they have the right coach and quarterback to do it. And it is easy to forget that if Seattle hadn’t botched things after being a yard away from winning the season finale, the 49ers would have been a wild card team after losing three of their five regular season games.
5. The Super Bowl TV ratings increased slightly from last year but it was still only the 10th most watched Super Bowl. The Super Bowl still draws the biggest ratings of an TV show all year. But the audience doesn’t seem to be growing.
6. It remains to be seen if the Chiefs are on the cusp of a dynasty, but another question is whether the Patriots dynasty is over. Bill Belichick was booed at the game and flashed three of his six Super Bowl rings, but he may not win a seventh one. Even if Tom Brady returns, he is showing his age and the Pats don’t have an alternative.