Richard Sherman has experienced both heartbreak and ecstasy in his NFL career. He knows the joy of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and the pain that comes when your Super Bowl dream comes to an end.
The 49ers star cornerback won a Super Bowl and lost one as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He suffered Super Bowl defeat again this past February when the 49ers blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, eventually falling 31-20.
Only three teams in NFL history have lost a Super Bowl only to return and win the title the following season. Some teams make it back to the playoffs, others fall out of contention entirely. The Super Bowl hangover is half-myth, half-reality. But Sherman is confident the 49ers' loss to the Chiefs will fuel their drive back and not lead to the "Revenge Tour" careening into a ditch and missing the playoffs.
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SIGN UP HERE The 2020 49ers remind Sherman of the 2013 Seahawks team that returned from an NFC Divisional Round loss to the Atlanta Falcons to blow through the rest of the NFL en route to a Super Bowl title. To Sherman, a devastating playoff loss either breaks teams or pushes them to new heights.
"I think it's one of those things that you either got it or you don't," Sherman said on an Instagram Live interview with Pro Football Focus. "When I was in Seattle, the thing that made most hungry was the loss. We lost to Atlanta in 2012 in the playoffs, in a year we thought we should have won the Super Bowl. It was in the second round. We were really young then, we were second- third-year players and it pissed us off. We thought it was ridiculous that we lost. We had a great team. I think three of our last four games we scored 50-plus points. We were killing people. The next year, it was like the season couldn't start fast enough. It couldn't go by fast enough because everybody in our way was simply that -- in our way.
"I think the same is true with this team," Sherman said of the 49ers. "I don't think much needs to be said. I think these guys are hungry, they are committed, it's much different when you're going on a Super Bowl journey and it's everybody's first time. They are like, 'Man, what should we expect? Does this seem like a Super Bowl team? How does it feel?' Now, they all know. They are all Super Bowl experienced. They've all been there, so they can all answer those questions. It's not about the journey anymore, it's about the finish."
The 49ers will enter the 2020 season as one of the favorites to come out of a loaded NFC and head to Tampa Bay for Super Bowl LV.
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Coach Kyle Shanahan's team returns 10 of 11 starters on defense and eight of 11 on offense. The 49ers lost DeForest Buckner, Emmanuel Sanders and Joe Staley in the offseason, but did well to fill the voids by drafting defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and trading for seven-time Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams to replace Staley.
[RELATED: Sherman expects Pro Bowl season from Jimmy G in 2020]
The 49ers were six minutes away from Super Bowl glory before everything came tumbling down. Sherman and the defense, which had handcuffed Mahomes all night, suddenly were shredded as the Chiefs reeled off 21 unanswered points. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a chance to rescue the 49ers, but he overthrew a wide-open Sanders on the could-be game-winning touchdown pass with under two minutes to play. The 49ers turned the ball over on downs on the next play.
Sherman and the 49ers will enter the season with a massive chip on their shoulder, looking to silence all of their doubters and claim the franchise's sixth Super Bowl title.
A devastating loss can either make or break a team. Sherman believes the 49ers' Super Bowl LIV loss only fortified the team's desire to be great.
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