NBC Sports
The dust has settled, the ‘cool’ stories have come and gone, and we’re down to one final team representing the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII (58), the San Francisco 49ers. Before the season started the Niners had the 3rd best odds to win the Super Bowl (behind KC and Philly), and once again it seems like the oddsmakers knew what they were talking about.
The Niners season has had many chapters. [Chapter 1 would be called: The Grand Opening]. They started the year 5-0 with Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey both looking like MVP candidates. Within these 5 games, they beat three eventual playoff teams: the Steelers, Rams, and Cowboys. The combined score of these games was 102-40, an average margin of victory of 20 points. They came out of the gate hot and looked like the best team in the league.
[Chapter 2: Speed Bumps ahead] They then hit a 3-game lull in the Browns, Vikings, and Bengals. The offense scored 17 points in all three games and the defense was no longer allowing an average of 14 points a game. Those factors combined led to them dropping 3 straight and leaving us at home confused about who the 49ers really were. They got to their much-needed bye week at 5-3, no longer the one seed, and in need of a great back half of the season from the boys.
[Chapter 3: Stopped For Gas. Refueled and Ready To Go] They regrouped and went on a month and a half tear. Their defense was once again suffocating opponents and they tallied 6 straight wins. Both Brock Purdy and CMC were gaining serious traction to be the league MVP. They ended this stretch at 11-3 and the 1 seed was theirs for the taking.
[Chapter 4: AMBER ALERT] The fourth part of their story was just one game against the Ravens. This was the shortest but seemingly most impactful part of their journey this year. They had solidified themselves as a top team in the NFL but they were shown to be human. The Ravens put an absolute beatdown on them. Purdy looked like a 7th-round pick and Shanahan seemed not ready to win a big game. Luckily that was still just another regular-season game. The Ravens may have won the battle, but they’re not the ones we’re writing about today.
[Chapter 5: Finding A Way] After the brutal loss to Baltimore, they once again regrouped and with the help of the NFC East titans losing late, they were able to secure the 1 seed. In their game against Green Bay, it seemed like they would lose close, and then against Detroit it seemed that they would lose and it wouldn’t be close. Both didn’t happen. Despite being down in both games they found ways to win. That’s what good teams do, they find a way to win.
[Chapter 6: One Game] There’s one game left in the 2023-2024 NFL Season and the San Francisco 49ers are in it. If you want numbers and analytics I can throw some ESPN links at the bottom but what we have with the Niners is a story (and maybe we’re all starting to see the pattern with SGS and stories). It’s not your conventional trip to the Super Bowl, but they still got here through a dominant season. They’ve got Mr. Irrelevant, they’ve got a star-studded offense around him, and defensive playmakers on the other side of the ball. They’ve got the talent to go out there and win the game, they just have to do it.
We’re 48 hours away from seeing what happens. 48 hours from seeing if the boys from Santa Clara can stop the dynasty in Kansas City. We’re so close but at the end of the day to quote Nasatsha Bedingfield…
“The rest is still unwritten.”
Commentaires