NFL Notebook: San Francisco 49ers Preview
After three straight years of at least reaching the NFC Championship Game and coming off a devastating Super Bowl loss, the San Francisco 49ers suffered a hangover year in 2024. They played middling football for the first half and then completely collapsed to a 6-11 record. Injuries were no small factor. Will good health lead to a return to form or is the decline going to be more lasting?
MCCAFFREY’S RETURN
Christian McCaffrey only played four games last year and getting the league’s most versatile running back healthy will be a huge boon. While the offensive line he runs behind doesn’t look as dominant as it did a couple of years ago, they still have a steady interior, and the ageless Trent Williams continues to play at an exceptionally high level at left tackle.
San Francisco dealt Deebo Samuel to Washington, although the fact it was only a fifth-round pick they got in return tells you that Samuel’s value is in decline. And the 49ers have enough weapons in the short-to-intermediate passing game. George Kittle is the NFL’s best tight end, Jauan Jennings is reliable in the slot and McCaffrey’s return will bolster this part of the offense.
It’s getting the ball down the field and doing it in reasonably efficient fashion that will ultimately define this offense. Brock Purdy continues to make big plays, averaging a healthy 8.5 yards-per-attempt last year. And he continues to make more mistakes than you’d like to see, with an interception rate of 2.6 percent. He’s still just 25-years-old, so there’s reason to hope the latter can get cleaned up. He’s going to need Brandon Aiyuk to step up and be a consistent home run threat.
PICKING UP THE PIECES ON DEFENSE
Whatever issues the offense had last season, it wasn’t the reason the 49ers collapsed. They still ranked 13th in the league for points scored. The culprit was a defense that completely melted down and ended up a woeful 29th in points allowed. The fact that this side of the ball is top-heavy, dependent on stars and lacking in depth, was exposed.
Officially, defensive end Nick Bosa played 14 games. In reality, the great pass-rushing defensive end was playing hurt for much for the second half. Bosa, along with middle linebacker Fred Warner are genuinely great players. Their greatness basically covered up for what it is a lot of mediocrity at the other spots. When Bosa slowed, even a bit, the edifice came crashing down.
San Francisco addressed this side of the ball in the draft, getting defensive Mykell Williams out of Georgia with their first-round pick. They also brought in Robert Saleh as the new coordinator. While Saleh’s head coaching stint with the Jets didn’t go well, his teams always played good defense. The 49ers have to hope some new coaching, some good health, and some fresh blood up front can produce better results.
OUTLOOK
Betting markets are bullish on San Francisco returning to form, posting an Over/Under win prop of 10.5 I’m not sure where I stand right now. I like the way the 49ers play stylistically and enjoy watching them. If they’re healthy, they’re a Super Bowl threat. But last season showed just how dependent on they are on a handful of stars, and a 17-game schedule is a long grind. Banking on perfect health is risky. I’ll probably end up picking the 49ers to win the NFC West in the final preview before the season starts. But I could be talked out of it.