NFL Network's Ian Rapoport Explains Why 49ers Can Overcome Super Bowl Hangover

The San Francisco 49ers had the Lombardi Trophy in their grasp with a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter of last season's Super Bowl, but Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs came storming back for a 31-20 victory.

While some may be worried about a Super Bowl hangover for the 49ers, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport is not one of them.

Rapoport appeared on KNBR's Murph & Mac show Tuesday morning (h/t David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone) and explained a relatively quiet offseason was welcome news for San Francisco's chances in 2020:

"I thought the Niners had kind of a really good offseason. It wasn't like very exciting. The Trent Williams trade was exciting. ... He's an upgrade, and I guess he's been as good as they thought. I mean, that's what it sounds like to me.

"So he's a good addition, and getting (the George) Kittle (deal) done is nice. But other than that, they just kind of kept most of their guys together, and I think got a little better in a couple of different places.

"To me, it's like they just maintained. And I think what happens a lot of times is when you have teams who reach the Super Bowl, it's usually time for a lot of guys to get paid, a lot of guys to become celebrities, and I think that's why it's hard to repeat. I'm not sure that happened in the Niners' case."

Bonilla noted that stands in stark contrast to the predictions of Kyle Brandt and Nate Burleson on Good Morning Football, who both said San Francisco will not make the playoffs.

"That Super Bowl-loss hangover is real," Burleson said.

Bryan DeArdo of CBSSports.com put some numbers to the Super Bowl hangover, pointing out only eight teams in league history have returned to the Super Bowl the season after losing it with the 2018 New England Patriots as the only one to do so since 1993.

Recently, the 2016 Carolina Panthers and 2019 Los Angeles Rams missed the playoffs entirely the season after dropping the Super Bowl.

Many of the faces will look familiar in San Francisco, which could help prevent a similar fate.

Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel can anchor the aerial attack, while Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman return in the rushing game. That backfield also adds a healthy Jerick McKinnon.

Defensively, Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead can make life easier for Richard Sherman's secondary with a formidable pass rush.

The 49ers will look to start the defense of their NFC crown in Sunday's season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.