Getty The 49ers celebrate a George Kittle touchdown on January 8, 2023 in Santa Clara.
The San Francisco 49ers are scathing hot heading into the upcoming playoffs, riding a 10-game winning streak. In the process, not one single division opponent toppled the Niners, with S.F. going unbeaten in the NFC West.
That type of divisional dominance got an opposing NFC West player telling Heavy NFL senior reporter Matt Lombardo on Wednesday, January 11 just how equipped the 49ers are in making a run at the Super Bowl.
“It’s not really a surprise, but I think the 49ers can wreck your day,” the player said, who spoke to Lombardo on the condition on anonymity.
49ers Have Elements to Make a Run, Analyst & Insider Says
This 49ers team will look to add a third victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, January 14 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. As of Wednesday, the 49ers are now a -9.5 favorites to surpass the ‘Hawks per Bet MGM.
Count Heavy’s Lombardo as a believer in the 49ers, as he’s picked S.F. to eliminate the Seahawks this weekend.
“The 49ers have the defense, and the playmakers on offense, to make a legitimate Super Bowl run in the NFC,” Lombardo wrote in his column.
He pinpointed the defense and Brock Purdy at the controls of the offense as two primary reasons this 49ers team is built for Glendale, Arizona on February 12.
“Over the past five weeks, DeMeco Ryans’ defense has held opponents to just 17.4 points per game, as third-string quarterback Brock Purdy executed Kyle Shanahan’s offense to near perfection, surpassing 35 points in four of those five contests,” Lombardo explained. “After making the Super Bowl and NFC Championship Game over the past three seasons, this is a battle-tested veteran group that has the pieces to hoist the Lombardi.”
Lombardo isn’t the only NFL analyst who is a believer in the 49ers. So are other well-known NFL analysts across the league.
Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky tabbed the Niners as a “well coached team” while adding “they’re talented and well coached at everything they do.” Orlovsky included a clip that explains his reasoning of the Niners having the talent and intellect he described while breaking down this screen pass to Christian McCaffrey:
Well coached football team @49ers
49ers Also Dealing With Potentially Losing Ryans
While Ryans is the architect behind the NFL’s top rated defense and is preparing to slow down a Seattle attack featuring a rejuvenated Geno Smith and Pro Bowler D.K. Metcalf, there is a potential distraction that looms over the Bay Area: Who will try to get Ryans to coach their team in 2023.
Ryans continues to be a red hot commodity in coaching circles for the 2023 cycle. But according to NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated on Monday, January 9, Ryans will have the power to be “picky” about his next possible destination.
“[He] can afford to be picky, and many in the industry expect he will be,” Breer wrote.
Breer later revealed that Ryans pulled himself out of the Minnesota Vikings search which led to the team hiring Kevin O’Connell. Ryans had declined a second interview with the franchise.
“Last year, Ryans pulled out of the Vikings search,” Breer wrote. “I don’t think he’d be afraid to do the same with the [Denver] Broncos or [Houston] Texans if he didn’t feel things were right with those franchises.”
Already, both the Broncos and Texans have requested permission to interview him for their vacant head coaching positions.
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