What the 49ers said after Super Bowl 58: ‘It’s going to hurt’

Here’s what 49ers players and coaches had to say after losing Super Bowl 58 to the Chiefs on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium:

Coach Kyle Shanahan

“Yeah, I hurt the most for the players. I can’t tell you guys how long it takes to get here and just how long the NFL season is. Going through January and all the way into February. So, our guys, I hurt for the most.”

Quarterback Brock Purdy

“Man, it was just tough. I feel like first and second down was tough. We’d always — I feel like it was like third and long. I have to be better on first and second down, taking what they have given me. I feel like they were just sticky across the board when they played man coverage and stuff, so that was another challenge. So, I just feel like on third down, I have to execute better. For our defense to give us that many stops like they did, and then for us to … not do anything with those opportunities, that’s what hurts me.”

Running back Christian McCaffrey

“Yeah, it hurts. It hurts deep. It’s something that you dream about as a kid. You’ve worked so hard for all year and come up short. I think you just have to go through all the emotions as they come, but each day just chip away getting back to normal. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. It’s still fresh, and it still sucks.”

Tight end George Kittle

“I think both teams had plenty of opportunities. Our defense was playing really well in the first half. Our offense couldn’t — we sputtered a little bit. (And) then when you play a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes with a good offense, you got to put up touchdowns, not field goals.”

Edge rusher Nick Bosa

“I was speechless. I couldn’t really look anybody in the eye, especially all my teammates. I could have done more. Everybody could have done more. And there’s really not much to say at this point. It’s going to hurt, and it’s going to hit in waves, but that’s life.”

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk

“It’s really hard. I don’t really know how to put it in perspective yet. I still haven’t had all the feelings of it yet. Right now, you feel numb a little bit, and you don’t know what to say to your teammates, other than just you appreciate them and you love them and you did some really good things together. Just gotta finish it.”

Defensive lineman Arik Armstead

“We gave it all we had. It’s all a hard task to chase around Mahomes, so it puts a lot of pressure on you to keep from getting fatigued, but we gave it all. I’m proud of our guys.”

Linebacker Fred Warner

“That’s probably the most disappointing thing about the loss because we went into it saying that (tight end Travis Kelce) wasn’t going to be the reason that they beat us. And, you know, we just were off on a couple of plays there at the end where he’s running wide open over the middle of the field. And so, you know, that’s just disappointing.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on X.