This column is an excerpt from our Section 415 newsletter, where we cover the biggest stories in Bay Area sports each Monday and Friday. To sign up, visit The Standard’s newsletter page and select Section 415. It’s free to subscribe!
If the 49ers’ dreams of playing in the Super Bowl in their home stadium had to be dashed, it’s probably best that their season ended with a blowout loss.
A tight margin against the Seattle Seahawks could have convinced Jed York, John Lynch, and Kyle Shanahan that the 49ers will be close to competing atop the division and the conference next season. A narrow defeat might have suggested that healthy stars and a solid draft class would even make San Francisco the team to beat. But a 35-point embarrassment is proof that the road ahead is filled with potholes that could send the 49ers swerving off their desired track.
The Seahawks are fantastic, and they aren’t going anywhere. The Rams might be just as good, and Los Angeles will take its crack at Seattle in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers won 12 regular-season games and pulled off a playoff stunner in Philadelphia, but their path back to the late rounds of the playoffs isn’t quite as clear.
If Brock Purdy continues improving and the 49ers can get Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Trent Williams all on the field in the postseason, they can compete with anyone. But the odds of every star, or even most of them, being healthy enough to play deep into January decrease every season.
2 days ago
5 days ago
Monday, Jan. 12
McCaffrey and Warner both turn 30 this year. Bosa has missed the majority of two seasons with ACL tears, Kittle is in the early stages of rehabbing from a devastating Achilles injury, and Williams, who will be 38 in July, is headed into his 16th NFL season.Â
It’s why the 49ers should view the 2026 season as the year to go all in. After slashing some salary commitments last offseason, San Francisco should aggressively pursue upgrades, particularly along the defensive line and at wide receiver.Â
This is the spring to move up in the draft, to sign premium free agents, and to part with future assets in trades that address current needs. The competition within the NFC West is fierce, but outside of Purdy, nearly every 49ers superstar is in the late stages of their career, and the organization can’t miss this window.
There will come a time when these stars are no longer playing at All-Pro caliber levels, and when that moment arrives, the 49ers will have to completely change how they operate. They won’t be able to replicate McCaffrey’s abilities as a rushing and receiving threat, and they won’t find a stand-in for Warner who can play the run and the pass as well as he does.
The ugly loss in Seattle should set alarms off in Santa Clara. The offseason is just beginning, but it’s already time to wake up and get to work.