MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — As the Kansas City Chiefs' points stacked up late and they began to pull away from the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, the NFL avoided the type of officiating scrutiny that shrouded last year's postseason.

The pass interference against 49ers tight end George Kittle on a monster chunk play at the end of the first half was relegated to a shrugging gripe. The Chiefs jumping offsides in the middle of the fourth quarter seemed less relevant. Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo seemingly taking a helmet-to-helmet hit on the same play faded. Even the crucial third-and-goal, go-ahead late touchdown by Chiefs running back Damien Williams — which was reviewed and upheld by officials — became an afterthought.

When it was all over, the 49ers' brief survey of the damage in their 31-20 loss told them that most of what happened Sunday night was self-inflicted. Whether it was blown coverages, inopportune turnovers or simply missing game-changing opportunities (see: Garoppolo overthrowing Emmanuel Sanders late in the game), San Francisco's deflated locker room had simply accepted the Super Bowl loss for what it was. Leading 20-10, the 49ers didn't close the way they needed or wanted.

Of course, that doesn't mean there won't be haunting moments from the fan base, which appeared as a slow burn on social media long after the loss. A special and specific brand of vitriol that is often the deepest cut in a Super Bowl loss, coming in the form of officiating mistakes that will leave some lasting scars for the 49ers faithful. Especially if this is a franchise that can't get over the championship hump in the next few seasons.

With that in mind, here are the four biggest calls that rankled San Francisco fans — along with a thought about whether they were the mistakes they appeared to be:

Tight end George Kittle is flagged for pass interference before halftime

The NFL jumped all over this one with its @NFLofficiating Twitter account, supporting a call that Kittle pushed off in the process of catching a 41-yard pass that would have put San Francisco into scoring position late in the second quarter. In point of fact, the league's video did highlight Kittle extending his arm at least twice to gain an advantage on safety Daniel Sorensen prior to making the catch.

The video doesn't point out that Sorensen also initiated contact on the play and, at one point, appeared to grab Kittle while the ball was in the air.

This was a prototypical officiating judgment call that went bad for the 49ers. But there was evidence to back it up, not to mention the reality that Kittle didn't have to push off to catch the perfectly thrown ball.

For their part, the 49ers didn't raise a stink about it afterward, with Niners coach Kyle Shanahan calling the play "unfortunate" but admitting he didn't see it clearly from his sideline vantage. Kittle merely added, "The ref makes a call, I live with it."

The receiver extends his arm and creates separation while the ball is in the air, therefore it is offensive pass interference. – AL#SBLIV pic.twitter.com/hxAvggDqhS — NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) February 3, 2020

Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon jumped offsides in the fourth quarter

On a third-and-14 play the 49ers badly needed to continue a drive and put a hammerlock on their 20-10 lead, Kpassagnon clearly jumped offsides before the 49ers had snapped the ball. A slow-motion replay even showed him throwing the brakes on for a millisecond as the shotgun snap went off. There's not much to say about it other than it was a missed call by the officials. It would have shorted the down to only third-and-9 — hardly putting San Francisco into an easily makable down and distance. Not great, but not clearly a game-altering moment, either.

Just saw this. The Chiefs most definitely jumped offsides on this play. Granted it was 3rd and 14 but you never know. pic.twitter.com/th5AXOw0Et — Kyle Seeley (@ItsKyleSeeley) February 3, 2020

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo appears to take a late hit

On the same play as Kpassagnon jumped offsides, Garoppolo rolled to the sideline and appeared to take a late hit from cornerback Rashad Fenton. Frankly, it was the kind of play that can easily get flagged for a personal foul in today's uber-sensitive environment protecting quarterbacks. If it was someone like Tom Brady, the flag almost certainly would have been thrown — which is likely why Shanahan went ballistic on officials during the sideline scene after the hit.