The 49ers defender who dropped a game-clinching interception took accountability for botching his team's shot at the Super Bowl

• San Francisco safety Jaquiski Tartt dropped an easy interception during the NFC championship game.
• The 49er said he felt he "let my brothers down" and that he wishes he "could have it back."

The opportunity of a lifetime fell right into Jaquiski Tartt's hands.

And he let it slip through his fingers — literally.

The San Francisco 49ers strong safety was perfectly positioned to haul in a 55-yard desperation heave from Los Angeles Rams' quarterback Matt Stafford during the fourth quarter of Sunday night's NFC championship game. With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and San Francisco holding a three-point lead, the interception very well could have sealed the victory and sent the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

Instead, the ball ricocheted off Tartt's chest, bounced out of his hands, and fell to the turf for an incomplete pass.

The Rams went on to kick the game-tying field goal on that drive and took the lead on the following possession. San Francisco had an opportunity for a game-winning drive with just under two minutes left in the game, but an interception forced by Aaron Donald put the game out of the 49ers' hands and made Tartt's nightmare a reality.

During the post-game press conference, the 29-year-old acknowledged that the botched interception was "a play I should make in my sleep and I didn't make it."

"I feel like I let my brothers down," he added. "... Obviously my play was a crucial one that I left on the field and I really wish I could have it back."

Several of Tartt's teammates consoled the defender after the error, and San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan offered him support while he addressed the media.

Even still, Tartt tweeted later that evening that he would make "no excuses" for the missed opportunity and that he deserves "all the criticism" levied against him.

Even still, he won't allow the moment to "define me as a person/player" and vowed that he "only will get stronger and better" from this point on.