After the 49ers secured their first road playoff win since January 2014, living to fight another day in the Garoppolo era, I got on the phone with my dad to talk about the game. Obviously, we were elated about the win, but there was something else bubbling under the surface, a nagging feeling. One that’s seemingly become all too familiar.
The Niners had so many chances to close things out, but instead, their last four possessions looked like this: punt, interception, punt, punt—the last of which was the most frustrating. Deebo Samuel comes up literal inches short of the first down after a brilliantly called play.