After a 12-5 regular-season record and a 2025 divisional-round playoff exit, the 49ers are looking to 2026, and NFL analyst Trey Wingo believes the team is ready for another season of Super Bowl contention for San Francisco.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have every opportunity to do what they\u2019ve had every year with Kyle Shanahan: Go as far as their talent can take them,\u201d Wingo told NBC Sports Bay Area\u2019s Matt Maiocco at the American Century Championship in South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday. \u201cThey have the ability to be one of those top-five teams every year that can win it all, but things have got to go their way. The last few years with the injuries, they just haven\u2019t.”<\/p>\n
Last season, the 49ers had a chance for the NFC’s No. 1 seed in Week 18 before falling to the Seattle Seahawks \u2013 the team that would also knock them out of the NFL postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, Seattle\u2019s defense was great,\u201d Wingo told Maiocco when discussing the pair of losses. \u201cThey\u2019ve lost a couple of players, but their core is still there. But the 49ers lose all their players every year \u2013 that\u2019s a part of it. [George] Kittle gets hurt. All the wide receivers get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Mike Evans, I think that\u2019s a great pickup for them. The thing for me in San Francisco is, can they just not be one of the top-three most injured teams in football? It feels like the last five years in a row that\u2019s been the case. That and playing Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl is the only thing that can slow them down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 49ers faced the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV<\/a> and LVIII<\/a>, dropping both matchups in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only two times that Kyle Shanahan has not made the postseason is after losing to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl,\u201d Wingo said. \u201cThey\u2019re consistent, they just got to avoid just getting bereft with injuries and they\u2019ve got to figure a way to keep that receiving corps a little more steady.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the Evans signing this offseason<\/a>, San Francisco also added De’Zhaun Stribling with the No. 33 overall pick<\/a> in the 2026 NFL Draft to boost the wideout depth.<\/p>\n While the offensive struggles against the Seahawks to end the season were notable, Wingo also told Maiocco that he\u2019s not ready to give up on Shanahan \u2013 someone widely regarded as an offensive guru.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not giving up on Kyle Shanahan,\u201d Wingo said. \u201cI know there\u2019s a lot of people that might not be as thrilled about his rate of success in the Bay Area. But, if Kyle Shanahan was fired tomorrow, there would be 28 teams that would be clamoring to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to Evans and Kittle, the 49ers have a myriad of offensive talent returning to the team, starting with Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy, as well as plenty of key returners on the defensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n Only time will tell, however, if the team can finally break through to the promised land and finally hoist the Lombardi trophy.<\/p>\n