The San Francisco 49ers were trailing by just four points with a minute and a half left in the Super Bowl when wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was running towards the end zone, fairly open, awaiting a catch from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The ball was overthrown, and Sanders missed what could have been a game-changing touchdown.

Mahomes to Hill on third-and-15 was a major turning point in the game, but I keep thinking about this play. Sanders was open and Garoppolo missed him. pic.twitter.com/QQFNIhDYU1

— Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) February 3, 2020

After the 31-20 defeat, Sanders was understandably upset. During post-game interviews, the wide receiver became increasingly aggravated by reporters, according to For The Win. When one journalist brought up “that play at the end of the game” and asked what path he ran, Sanders began shaking his head.

“What do you think it was? What route do you think it was? What did it look like? What did it look like? What route do you think it looked like?” Sanders said.

Another reporter asked the 32-year-old how close he was to catching the attempted pass, which only angered him more.

“What did you see? How close do you think I was? That’s a dumb question,” he said.

After about a minute into his press conference, the former Pittsburgh Steelers player got up and walked off.

Emmanuel Sanders was in no mood for any questions after Sunday’s loss pic.twitter.com/uvgoRiGQNI

— KNBR (@KNBR) February 3, 2020

Sanders finished the game with 38 yards and a total of three catches.

In a press conference before Sunday’s big matchup, Sanders urged people to give Garoppolo a chance and stop comparing him to other big-name quarterbacks.

“Leave him alone. The man right now, it’s really his first year starting and he’s done made it to the Super Bowl,” he said. “Give him more time before you start saying this and that about him. Just let him be in the moment.”

Emmanuel Sanders kept it ???? on the #49ers tonight.

He’s proven to be a tremendous signing for this team and his leadership is absolutely special. pic.twitter.com/UyGuJzJa4T

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) January 28, 2020

Prior to his upsetting loss, Sanders shared he would be wearing customized cleats during Super Bowl LIV honoring the late Kobe Bryant. The cleats, which are 49ers colors, scarlet and gold, feature a picture of the shooting guard along with his two jersey numbers, eight and 24. The words “Rest In Peace” are written across the cleats.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win. Whether it’s sitting on the bench waiving a towel. Handing out cups of water to my teammates or hitting the game winning shot.” – ???? Mamba pic.twitter.com/p1BowN840D

— Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) February 1, 2020

Back in October, Sanders was traded from the Denver Broncos to the Bay Area team, reports NBC Sports. The two-time Pro Bowler won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos back in 2016.

Sanders’ teammate Richard Sherman was also relatively quiet during post-game interviews for someone who is usually entertaining during press.

After the game, the 31-year-old Compton native was rather critical of his performance on the field, saying he “wasn’t good enough.”

Proud of this team! Wasn’t the result we wanted but we battled through. I wasn’t good enough tonight and I will fix that. Thank you for all the support all year.

— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) February 3, 2020

“It is what it is,” Sherman said, according to Yahoo. “We didn’t execute at the end and they got the win.”

The cornerback didn’t have many answers for reporters as to why the 49ers lost.

“Just mistakes. Just mistakes,” he said. “Simple mistakes.”

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