The San Francisco 49ers have won 25 regular season games and four playoff games over the past two seasons.
So why can’t they win that elusive sixth Super Bowl?
In 2022, they had terrible injury luck, losing Brock Purdy in the first quarter of the NFC Championship game. The game was not competitive after that, with Philadelphia cruising to a victory.
In 2023, the defense had two opportunities to stop the Chiefs late in the game and in overtime. They were unable to do so, and the Lombardi Trophy escaped again.
Now in 2024, John Lynch and company hope they have made the right moves to have a Bay Area Parade next February.
Let’s look at the defense. In 2022, the 49ers were first in the league in total and scoring defense. The defense was the reason that the team overcame injuries to the quarterbacks and made a playoff run. Last season, that rush defense was very inconsistent. They dropped to 26th in rush defense. Nick Bosa had 10.5 sacks, down from 18.5 in 2022. In the playoffs last season, the 49ers gave up an average of nearly 150 yards per game to the Packers, Lions and Chiefs.
As a result, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was let go, and Nick Sorensen was promoted to the position. The 49ers lost Arik Armstead, Chase Young, Clelin Ferrell, and Javon Kinlaw from that defensive line. They added Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Jordan Elliott in free agency, and traded for Maliek Collins. They are hoping that with the promotion of Sorensen, they can get back to the level of performance of DeMeco Ryans’ 2022 defense.
On offense, the big “news” is the hold in of Brandon Aiyuk. The star receiver wants a new contract; he has reported to camp and participates in team meetings, but he refuses to participate in practices. Although trade discussions centering around Aiyuk have been leaked, I fully expect Aiyuk to be on the field at Levi’s Stadium on September 9. A 49ers offense without Aiyuk would have a massive hole to fill, and at this late date, the options to potentially replace Aiyuk are few.
Brock Purdy comes back for his third season as the starter. He was outstanding in 2023, with over 4200 yards passing, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Christian McCaffrey is in the fold as well. Depth at the skill player positions is definitely an advantage for the 49ers – Deebo Samuel can play anywhere on the field, George Kittle is an elite tight end, Jauan Jennings is a great target, and newly drafted Ricky Pearsall will add to the depth (granted that he is healthy). The offensive line is back as a unit although Trent Williams is holding out for a new contract (expect Jaylon Moore to take that spot if contract issues are not resolved).
It is possible that the team makes some additional moves during cutdown week. They could use another pass rusher. However, on paper right now, the 49ers are loaded. If the team performs comparably to recent performance, this is a team that at MINIMUM should make the NFC Championship game for the fourth consecutive year. The schedule is very favorable at the beginning; Week 7 starts a stretch of six games in which they play five playoff teams from 2023. They go to Miami in Week 16 after a long week, then get Detroit back home for a Monday night matchup, and finish at Arizona.
Will the Niners be 2024’s San Francisco Treat? Or will it be much ado about nothing when February rolls around? The Faithful want to start filling that other hand with hardware, and this could be the team that does it.
