No matter how talented you are or what generational star leads your team, in the end, you really do have to want it.
Desire, effort and drive often make the difference between a team that achieves the goals it sets for itself and those that fall short.
Days after the 37-20 beatdown the Green Bay Packers suffered at the hands of the 49ers last Sunday in the NFC Championship Game, coach Matt LaFleur went in on his team for not exhibiting the "give a [bleep] attitude" you need to go on the road and beat a good team.
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The 49ers ran the ball right down the Packers' throat, backed all the way out of their esophagus and crammed it down there again in the win that sent the Niners to Super Bowl LIV.
To LaFleur, the game plan wasn't a surprise, but the lack of fire his team showed in getting clowned like Wile E. Coyote chasing Road Runner upset the first-year head coach.
"I think it was a combination of a lot of things," LaFleur said of the loss. "You gotta give San Francisco credit. They definitely out-coached us. I just didn't feel we played with the same urgency, the same tenacity, the same toughness.
"It's disappointing because it's not like we didn't know what they were going to try to do. We knew exactly what they were gonna try to do. We knew they were gonna run the football. For them to be able to do that, was extremely disappointing."
The lack of urgency showed on a key play in the second quarter. With the Packers trailing 17-0 but driving, Aaron Rodgers fumbled the snap. But instead of trying to dive for the ball, Rodgers simply stood there and watched DeForest Buckner recover the fumble for the 49ers.
[RELATED: Ready to drive, or is Jimmy G just along for 49ers' ride?]
After a 13-3 season that was as unimpressive as they come, Rodgers, LaFleur and the Pack will head back to the drawing board to figure out how to get the legendary quarterback back to the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade.
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As for the hyper-focused 49ers, their attention turns to Super Bowl LIV and a date with reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and a Kansas City Chiefs team that's sure to pack their sense of urgency for South Beach.
Programming note: NBC Sports Bay Area feeds your hunger for 49ers Super Bowl coverage with special editions of “49ers Central” all week (5:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday; 8:00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; 6:00 p.m. Friday).