The 49ers are comfortable playing from behind, but they’d prefer not to do it in Las Vegas next weekend.
Both of their playoff wins saw them come back from deficits in the second half and quarterback Brock Purdy said that the team has learned that it plays well when their backs are against the wall. Purdy said that the team needs to find a find a way to feel like they’re in that position early in the Super Bowl rather than waiting until the Chiefs have taken a lead.
“I feel like all of us, we’re sort of learning just that chip on our shoulder, the mindset of our backs being against the wall and we need it,” Purdy said at a Friday press conference. “That’s when our best style of ball comes out and we all step up to the plate and play our best. So, whatever that mindset is early on, we need to get to it. And so, obviously we need to do a better job with third downs early in the game and converting on those and staying on the field. But I mean, when we needed to come back, we step it up, we pick it up, the intensity, everyone’s just on it and on point. So, if we can have that kind of mindset early on, just like we have all year and come out firing away, I think that’s when our defense plays well with that. So that’s something that we all have to talk about and be better at for sure. And that starts with me.”
The Chiefs also came from behind to beat the Bills in the divisional round and they have come back in the second half of both of their Super Bowl victories with Patrick Mahomes, so neither side is likely to be panicking if they find themselves trailing at any point in the game.