Christian McCaffrey still is kicking himself for fumbling on the 49ers' first drive of their Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
San Francisco's offense marched down the field with ease on the opening drive, totaling 35 yards on just three plays before McCaffrey coughed the ball up on the Kansas City 29-yard line.
Fortunately for the 49ers, their defense was stout early against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense, and forced a quick three-and-out following the McCaffrey fumble. No harm, no foul, right?
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In speaking to reporters on Tuesday, two days after the 49ers' heartbreaking loss, McCaffrey admitted to reporters that he continues to replay the fumble in his head.
"I think there's so many things to look back on in that game that you want back," McCaffrey said. "Obviously for me, just putting the ball on the ground is something I keep replaying in my head. Just can't do it. There's a lot of different plays we could have made but we didn't and we fell short. It hurts, but that's life."
While McCaffrey's fumble did not result in Kansas City points on the ensuing drive, there's no question that an opening-drive score potentially could have changed the outcome of the game.
San Francisco 49ers
The All-Pro running back rushed 22 times for 80 yards (3.6 average) and caught eight receptions for 80 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air.
While collecting 160 all-purpose yards in the biggest game of his career is nothing to scoff at, it's the fumble that will haunt McCaffrey for quite some time.