How are the hobbled 49ers still in this? They found a different way to be great – The Athletic
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Understanding the absurdity of the San Francisco 49ers’ current position requires more than a glance at the standings. It requires memory. It requires rewinding the cassette tape to the most fragile moment of the season, when belief required delusion.
October 12. Just three weeks after Nick Bosa was lost for the season, Fred Warner’s foot pointed in a gruesome direction. One that made stomachs turn and futures wobble. The defeat to the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers even seemed secondary. The season felt lost when a cart carried Warner off the field.
“We lost guys that’s the heart and soul of the team,” offensive tackle Trent Williams said. “So, I’d be lying to just say I was ready to roll with the next guy. It took some time, man. We had to, you know, for lack of a better word, mourn it a little bit. Especially seeing the way Fred went down.”
One could imagine the thoughts running through the head of Williams, the Hall of Fame-bound left tackle, as he sat in a foreign locker room that afternoon. At 37 years old. In his 16th season. The thirst of Super Bowl glory still in his mouth. Losing two superstars in the first third of the season must’ve felt like something to grieve. Not just the injury of his brother in arms, but what felt like the death of their championship hopes.
But the 49ers resurrected this season. Quietly and methodically. Diligently. After toppling the lowly Tennessee Titans 37-24 at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, San Francisco sits at 10-4 — just a game behind the No. 1 seed in the NFC and with a two-game cushion on the first team out of the playoffs.
Just absurd. In the way resilience often is — illogical, defiant, astounding.
Through 16 weeks, with all they’ve been through, the 49ers have proven to be among the best in the NFC. Flawed, for sure. Wounded still. But insanely stubborn and increasingly energized by the results of their refusal to die.
“We’re fighting for a playoff spot,” tight end George Kittle said. “So if anybody goes out there and is sleepy or not thinking that we’re going to get a challenge, I don’t need them around me. Every game from this moment on is a huge game for us. … I want to play games in January, and the only way to do that is to beat every single team.”
A refresher course on what’s gone wrong this season:
Kittle, arguably the best tight end in football, injured his hamstring in the opener. He missed the next five games. Quarterback Brock Purdy missed Weeks 2 and 3 with his turf toe ailment. Bosa tore his ACL in Week 3. The last time that happened, in 2020, the 49ers finished with six wins.
Purdy returned for Week 4, a loss to Jacksonville, then missed the next six games. Second-year receiver Ricky Pearsall missed the same six games. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings missed Weeks 3 and 5. And Brandon Aiyuk, paid to be the No. 1 receiver, missed all of them.
Then, after all that, in Week 6, Warner’s injury happened. It should’ve broken this team. Climbing Mount Diablo in Crocs seemed more plausible than winning a Super Bowl without Bosa and Warner. Without the soul of the defense and its greatest force. Especially since, at the time, it wasn’t clear when Purdy would return.
The 49ers’ record at the time: 4-2.
Since then: 6-2.
The math ain’t mathing. The story certainly doesn’t add up. But the standings don’t care about logic or context. Only results. And somehow, improbably, audaciously, the 49ers still find themselves in the mix. From thwarted to threats.
The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, both 11-3, see scarlet over their shoulders. The Seahawks still have to travel to the Bay for the regular-season finale.
This survival isn’t by accident, but by design. By temperament. By the resolve of leaders who know all about the hardest football has to offer. By coaching.
The irony of this season is thick. Kyle Shanahan, the offensive savant, the schematic sorcerer whose reputation was built on stress-testing defenses, is watching perhaps his most resilient team win with grit instead of glamour. These 49ers didn’t fight back with brilliance. Instead, by bearing their teeth.
Without a doubt, the offense has been central to their success. The 49ers’ 344 points ranks No. 11, enough scoring to give their defense room for error.
“Our standard,” Purdy said, “is to go out, move the ball, put up points, regardless of who we’re playing. We know that we’re talented, and we have guys across the board — receiver, tight end, running back. That’s always going to be our standard. … I’m just speaking offensively.”
Shanahan has coached squads flush with enough stars to feel inevitable, including just last year. Twice, the 49ers came close enough to the Lombardi Trophy to see their breath on the silver, only to see it snatched away by the greatness of Patrick Mahomes. Those squads won by overwhelming opponents with their talent. This one wins by never letting up.
The edge of Shanahan is showing up in the personality of this team. He coaxed a 5-3 record out of backup quarterback Mac Jones’ starts. San Francisco’s 24.6 points per game have often come with running back Christian McCaffrey and receiver Kendrick Bourne leading in receiving yards. Shanahan, who has some bouts with conservatism, rides his workhorses with desperation. McCaffrey leads the league with 345 touches. Kittle is third among tight ends in receptions and second in touchdowns since returning from his injury.
This may end up being Shanahan’s finest coaching job. Not because of what he’s drawn up, but because of what he’s demanded.
What’s saving this season is the part of these 49ers that’s learned from loss, scar tissue and heartbreak. The part that understands championships aren’t built with perfection. It’s an endurance test. A challenge of the will. And as long as it comes down to the fight in the dog, they’re still in it.
The last three games feature something they haven’t seen in a while — playoff-caliber teams. At Indianapolis (8-6) before closing the season against Chicago (10-4) and Seattle.
They’ve got a chance. Something that seemed to die two months ago. But they’ve clawed it back to life.
“Our goals that we set out at the beginning of the year are still there,” Williams said, “no matter who is in or out of the lineup. Everything that we set out for, and that we said this team can
accomplish, is still right in front of us.”
Just absurd.
