The season came to a disappointing end for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday when they fell 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game, but it was hard for them to consider the season anything but a success after what they overcame to get to that point.
The 49ers weren't a popular pick to make the NFC Championship game after stumbling to a 6-10 record during an injury-plagued 2020 season, nor were they a team that many felt had much of a chance to make a playoff run after starting the 2021 season 3-5. But they never wavered when the chips were down, kept battling despite another never-ending stretch of injuries, and put together a memorable streak over the second half of the season that ended with a spot in the playoffs that finished just minutes from a berth in the Super Bowl.
There was a sense of pride in that accomplishment after the loss to the Rams, starting with head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was clear in his satisfaction for what the team put together in 2021.
"I'm so proud of those guys. I love this team," Shanahan said. "Every year is a different team, and this is as cool of a team as I've been a part of. We came up short today, and that's part of sports and part of life, and you've got to deal with it. Those guys are hurting now, but they'll rebound and we'll be stronger for it."
In addition to Shanahan and a number of players expressing pride in being able to rebound from a poor start, there was also a common theme of affection towards the personnel on the 2021 squad. The feeling was that this was a special group, despite falling just short of their ultimate goal.
"Just the character of everybody, just the people," Shanahan said. "We keep saying it over and over, but we really do like each other in there. Just the personalities, how we fought for each other. The style that we played with the whole year -- that's something that I'm very proud of as a coach because you can say anything you want but if you don't have the right people, it doesn't really matter. Those guys do things the right way and I wish I had another game with them."
Things indeed looked bleak for the 49ers after they fell to their fifth loss of the season. It was one of the lowest points of the Kyle Shanahan era -- a 31-17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals on November 7 in which the 49ers were dominated by an injury-plagued Cardinals team that was led by backup quarterback Colt McCoy. Fans were understandably upset with the entire organization after that loss, but it might have served as the wake-up call the 49ers needed.
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"A lot of people counted us out since the beginning of the season," safety Jimmie Ward said Sunday. "I'm proud of the coaches too, how Kyle mixed stuff up, how Meco [defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans] mixed stuff up. I've seen a lot of people counting Meco out -- a four-game losing streak, saying fire him, fire Kyle, fire John [defensive coordinator John Lynch]. We dug ourselves out that hole and ended up in the NFC Championship game. You don't really see that happen to much. But we've got to get back in this lab, train hard this offseason and change this outcome."
Still, the loss in the NFC Championship was tough to swallow given what the 49ers dealt with to get there. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo compared the experience to the numerous playoff runs he had with the Patriots and 49ers, saying this one had a different type of sting given the effort it took to overcome all the obstacles in the team's way.
"It's tough," Garoppolo said. "It's probably a little different than most of them, just how much we put into this year. Since the last time we played the Rams, the injury list that guys have played through during the playoffs this run, it's insane. I'm sure every team's going through it, but when it's your team and you're in it with them, you see it first hand just guys battling through stuff -- Trent Williams, Elijah Mitchell, Deebo, the list goes on and on. It's impressive what we accomplished. Obviously we came up short, but it was a fun year."
It'll be a long offseason for the 49ers from here, but they'll head into it with an experience they can grow from and come back stronger next season. Not every player from this year's team will be back next season, but the core that will remain in place should keep the 49ers competitive for the foreseeable future.
"Super special," defensive end Nick Bosa said. "I don't think the era comes to an end. I think we have a lot to build off from this year and I'm just proud of all the guys that I play with."
And the culture the 49ers have built should carry over as well. They feel like a team that will continue to fight for each other while having a wealth of experience with adversity that should keep them going through whatever comes their way.
"It's crazy. I can talk about every player on this team," wide receiver Deebo Samuel said. "But it's just a brotherhood that we have here. It's amazing to be a part of this team and all the guys, nobody having no problems with nobody. It's just a big brotherhood here and I love it."
