Sherman admits he came up short
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Richard Sherman knows this feeling all too well, when a Super Bowl victory sits tantalizingly within reach and abruptly, painfully, unforgettably disappears.
The last time, five years ago, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll failed to give the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch on the goal line. The Seahawks, seeking to repeat as champions, fell to New England 2824.
This time, on Sunday night, the 49ers held a 10point, fourthquarter lead until Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs unleashed a furious, threetouchdown barrage. That quickly, the 49ers lost 3120 and Sherman again found himself on the wrong side of history.
“We just made mistakes, simple mistakes,” he said. “… We’re still a great defense. Just didn’t execute our game.”
Sherman made one crucial mistake, when speedy Kansas City wide receiver Sammy Watkins beat him on a 38yard completion with 3:37 left. That moved the Chiefs to the San Francisco 10yard line; they scored three plays later to jump ahead 2420.
“He made a play,” Sherman said of Watkins’ catch.
The play was all the more notable given Sherman’s recent Twitter feud with former New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. That spat surfaced when Revis criticized Sherman’s coverage abilities in the NFC Championship Game against Green Bay.
Revis couldn’t contain himself Sunday night, though he was more subtle. “Are y’all waiting for the flame,” he tweeted, adding a flame emoji and three smiley faces for emphasis.
Sherman, who quickly fired back at Revis two weeks earlier, didn’t specifically respond this time. Sherman posted a tweet expressing pride in his team, adding, “I wasn’t good enough tonight and I will fix that.”
Earlier, when Sherman spoke to reporters at Hard
Rock Stadium, he was uncommonly terse. Sherman fielded several questions and repeatedly offered short, clipped answers.
On whether the defense became fatigued: “I don’t think so. I wasn’t really tired.”
On whether they changed anything defensively against Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes: “Nothing.”
On whether the 49ers played mantoman or zone defense: “We were playing a combination of both.”
Sherman usually offers insightful and expansive answers, but he obviously was frustrated. One bad quarter by the 49ers (especially on defense) prevented them from hoisting the Vince Lombardi
Trophy. One costly mistake by Sherman contributed heavily to the loss.
Now he heads into an offseason in which he will turn 32 next month, not exactly young for an NFL cornerback. Sherman has overcome long odds before — he soared from fifthround draft choice to fivetime Pro Bowler, and he bounced back from a torn
Achilles tendon two years ago to earn secondteam AllPro honors this season.
But the season didn’t end the way Sherman envisioned. Not at all.
Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkroichick@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick