Kyle Shanahan doesn’t dwell on giving up the largest lead in Super Bowl history, but that doesn’t mean it’s not always in the back of his mind.
The latest example took place during the NFC Divisional Playoff win over the Minnesota Vikings, when Shanahan briefly lost his cool on the sideline when the 49ers led by 17 points late in the game.
“I freaked out at Saleh when he tried to take the starters out in Minnesota,” Shanahan said. “We were up like two scores with thee minutes to go and I freaked out, then I did the math and I thought it was alright. You have some of those scars from that but besides that that’s about it.”
With Shanahan as offensive coordinator, the Falcons infamously blew a 28-3 to the New England Patriots in Kyle’s final season before taking over as 49ers’ head coach.
“Oh my god he almost killed us,” Sherman said with a smile. “They had pulled us because the game was done. I think it was less than a minute to go, we were up 17 and they had pulled us just to play it safe, and they had completed like two passes and got one first down, and he was like, ‘What the heck is going on?! Get them back in there!’
“My gloves were off, and it was like ‘put the gloves back on.’ We got them stopped but it was just him like, ‘No, finish it, finish it, finish it,’ every time.”