Charvarius Ward has now been on both sides of a Kansas City Chiefs-San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl matchup.

Victorious with the Chiefs in Miami four years ago, this time the cornerback experienced the pain of defeat as the Niners suffered more Super Bowl heartbreak, losing 25-22 in overtime.

For the 49ers' defense, it was in part a story of a collapse at the worst possible time.

San Francisco allowed only six points across the first drives. Across the final four drives, the Niners surrendered 19 points.

The final three drives across the fourth quarter and overtime went for 69, 64 and 75 yards, the defense failing to answer the bell when it mattered most.

And that is clearly what stung Ward, an All-Pro in his second season with the 49ers, more than anything else.

"The ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl, we feel like we were the best team this year, we weren't, we were the second best team," Ward said.

"We had opportunities to stop them and win the game. Also in overtime, they were making plays, we weren't, that's the bottom line.

"It was a great season, but no moral victories, we want to win the Super Bowl. We didn't get that done.

"They rose to the occasion and we as a defense, we just didn't. They moved the ball a lot in the fourth quarter, the last few drives they had, they were just balling. They rose up, we didn't."

It was a painful flip of the script for the 49ers, who saw their defense struggle for much of their first two playoff games, only to recover and excel in the second half.

With a chance to put the final touches on an exceptional display against arguably the finest quarterback to ever play, the Niners ran out of answers. Now they have a whole offseason to figure out how exactly they are going to recover in 2024 after letting the Lombardi slip through their fingers.

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