How the 49ers have learned to finish strong after early-season wobbles

The 49ers are still stinging from the one that got away, and believe they are built to finish.

Finishing games is more of a concept than something printed in black and white in a football manual and distributed by coach Kyle Shanahan. It can be complementary or specific to a phase of offense, defense or special teams. It can be a play made by an individual or something situational set up by superior coaching.

Whatever it is, the 49ers didn’t have it when it mattered most on Feb. 2, 2020 in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. They had it in the divisional round when they pulled out a 13-10 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Next up are the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. It’s the last step to take before getting a chance to ease the pain of what happened in Miami two years ago.

“It’s all about the finish. We’re still getting haunted by the Super Bowl,” safety Jimmie Ward said. “The last six minutes we lost the game. Coach Kyle put a big emphasis on finishing.”

To review, the 49ers led the Chiefs 20-10 in the fourth quarter. Kansas City got within 20-17 with 6:13 left on a drive that included a 38-yard strike from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek HIll on third-and-15. Then the 49ers went three-and-out, and the Chiefs drove 65 yards for a score to lead 24-20. All that was left was for Jimmy Garoppolo to overthrow a wide-open Emmanuel Sanders with 1:31 to go for a would-be 49-yard touchdown, and the Chiefs to add one last score on a 38-yard run by Damian Williams.

The Chiefs finished. The 49ers did not. There are 22 players including 13 starters who were on the 49ers roster for that game who have not forgotten.

“When you get that close to something, those are the ones that really stick out in your mind forever,” Shanahan said.

The ability to finish in 2021 has been acquired over time and wasn’t evident in Week 1. Up 41-17 at the two-minute warning, the 49ers had to hang on to beat the Detroit Lions 41-33. In Week 3, the 49ers had a 28-27 lead on Green Bay at Levi’s Stadium with 37 seconds left only tose 30-28 on a 51-yard field goal by Mason Crosby after Aaron Rodgers completed two passes to Davante Adams.

Closing can be a matter of inches. A Rodgers-to-Adams pass for 25 yards over the middle went just over the fingertips of middle linebacker Fred Warner. Had he taken a slightly deeper drop, he would have broken up the pass and maybe even intercepted it.

“There were times early in the season when we didn’t close,” Warner said. “You saw how Green Bay went in Week 3 compared to how it went last week. It’s for sure something we’ve gotten better at throughout the year. It takes everyone. It takes everyone being dialed in for four quarters, and we’re going to need the same thing this week.”

Five factors that have enabled the 49ers to be finishers down the stretch:

Running the ball

One of the most time-honored ways of finishing a game is playing keep-away with a lead. Elijah Mitchell gets tough yards and doesn’t fumble. The Rams almost blew their divisional win in Tampa Bay because Cam Akers was stripped late by Ndamukong Suh in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers ran it 44 times for 156 yards in their 31-10 Week 10 win that turned around their season. They ran it 31 more times in Week 18 even though they fell behind 17-0. Running not only keeps the opposing offense off the field, it slows the charge of a pass rush featuring Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd and Von Miller.

Rushing the passer

The 49ers sacked Dak Prescott and Aaron Rodgers five times each. Matthew Stafford went down five times in Week 18. That’s 15 sacks in the last three games, and it’s not just Nick Bosa. Aric Armstead has 5 1/2 sacks in those three games, providing the 49ers with a Mr. Outside-Mr. Inside combo. D.J. Jones provides a push up the middle as well and defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has even been dialing up blitzes on occasion with Warner and slot corner K’Waun Williams.

Warner terms the run game-pass rush combo as “our style of football” and sees it as conducive to closing out games.

Deebo Samuel

A week after calling his shot with a 26-yard cutback run against Dallas that put the game out of reach with a 23-7 lead, Samuel’s 9-yard gain on a third-and-7 run set up the game-winner by Gould against Green Bay. You want a candidate to close the deal? Samuel is a good guess.

“I think Deebo right now is playing like one of the best players in the NFL,” Shanahan said. “He just inspires. And he inspires me and he inspires our team and that makes it a lot easier to call plays.”

Fourth-quarter QB play

Garoppolo, at the controls of the big fade in Super Bowl LIV, looked headed toward another against the Packers as his offense delivered no touchdowns. He had a bad interception near the goal line intended for George Kittle.

But after a blocked punt and scoop-and-score tied the game at 10, Garppolo had completions of 12 yards to Kittle and 14 yards to Samuel in the drive that set up Robbie Gould’s 45-yard game-winning field goal. It’s not the first time Garoppolo has shaken off some bad plays and led the 49ers to a win.

Closing out the first half matters as well, and Garoppolo had completions of 24 and 26 yards to Brandon Aiyuk in Week 18 to set up Gould’s 42-yard field goal against the Rams when the 49ers trailed 17-0. It helped flip momentum the 49ers’ way.