Losing two Super Bowls to the same team in a five-year span must be tough to cope with.
The San Fransisco 49ers have never shied away from making excuses for losing big games during the Kyle Shanahan era. To their defense, it’s not a current player this time, but rather former 49ers Pro Bowl safety Donte Whitner. Kay Adams had Whitner on her show “Up & Adams” on Tuesday, and Whitner couldn’t help but to tell us all why the Niners really lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“When we think about the Super Bowl as well, I think that the 49ers played against the refs as well, guys,” Whitner said. “I think that when we look at that film, and you see bearhugs on those defensive ends, right? And you really see it in blatant moments in the game. The 49ers played against Taylor Swift, the refs and the Kansas City Chiefs. All three.”
Whitner played for San Fransisco from 2011-2013 and earned two Pro Bowl nods as a Niner. He now works as an analyst for CBS Sports and NBC Sports Bay Area. Now, we all know that NFL officiating is far from perfect, but blaming a loss on the referees, especially the Super Bowl, is probably the most overused excuse in the book.
This caught the attention of Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, who had this to say on Twitter in response to Whitner.
Jones has since deleted the tweet, maybe realizing it isn’t worth potential drama. Perhaps Whitner placing more blame on the fact that many Niners players didn’t understand the playoff overtime rules would be a better place to start. Or not being able to hold a double-digit lead.
Equally as lame was the Taylor Swift jab at the end. Let’s also not forget the excuse of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo overthrowing a pass to Emmanuel Sanders in their loss to K.C. in Super Bowl LIV. Or the fact that S.F. only lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2022 NFC Championship Game because of injuries. There seems to be a trend here.
