T
he San Francisco 49ers are rolling. Beating the Chicago Bears in Week 17 to keep their hopes for the No. 1 seed in the NFC alive while extending their winning streak to six games, the 49ers went from a team with a lot of questions entering the season into a team poised for a deep playoff run despite all the injuries that they have dealt with this season. Missing guys like Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Brandon Aiyuk and others for most of the season, the 49ers have still found ways to win and only need to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
But the playoffs are not the only goal that the 49ers have for this season. If the 49ers are able to secure the No. 1 seed, they only need to win two home games and they are in the Super Bowl– a game that is also at Levi’s Stadium this season. Falling short in two Super Bowls in the Kyle Shanahan era, the 49ers are hungry to bring one back this year. And the 49ers are not the only ones who think they can do it.
CBS Sports Has High Hopes for the 49ers
For the first time in years, the NFL looks wide open, with no clear cut favorite. Many teams have looked like they could be contenders this season, such as the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, but have had moments where you question how legit they are. And with no teams looking dominant, like the Kansas City Chiefs have in recent seasons, the playoffs this year could bring a lot of surprises. According to CBS Sports, while the team has the league’s fifth-best odds to win it all, Shanahan’s track record in the playoffs combined with the 49ers’ playing at an elite level, this team could be the one that ends the franchise’s decades long drought.
“The 49ers are 0-2 under Shanahan in Super Bowl appearances with both losses coming to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs,” CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford said. “With that franchise’s nine-year streak of winning the AFC West and getting to the postseason now over, the door’s open for the 49ers if they’re able to find a way past the Los Angeles Rams (+475) and the Seahawks (+500), two NFC teams who currently own slightly better odds to win it all, as well as the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (+1000).”
“Shanahan’s 8-4 playoff record with San Francisco includes losses to the Rams and Eagles during the 2021 and 2022 NFC Championship Games along with the two aforementioned setbacks in the Super Bowl,” Crawford added. “However, advancing deep into the postseason is always the expectation since he has never lost a wild-card or divisional playoff game (6-0).”
The 49ers made the Super Bowl in 2023 but fell short to the Chiefs in a 25-22 overtime loss. Missing the playoffs last season, the 49ers are hungry to show that they can still be the class of the league.
The 49ers’ Final Game
The race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC comes down to a matchup against the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. (PST) on ESPN/ABC– the same situation the 49ers found themselves in 2019. Finishing 13-3 that season and earning the No. 1 seed, the 49ers traveled to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in Week 17, needing a win to earn the top seed. Getting the win, the 49ers went on to advance all the way to Super Bowl 54, losing to the Chiefs.
Are the 49ers Primed to Break Decades Long Super Bowl Drought This Season?