Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers’ season came to an end in the NFC Divisional Round with a 41-6 loss against their division rival, the Seattle Seahawks. Normally, in these situations, you’d find me screaming at the TV about how much opportunity was squandered, the 49ers are underachieving, blah, blah, blah.
Instead, I was happy. Very optimistic. I didn’t see the 49ers winning that game. I didn’t see them losing like that, but I didn’t see them winning it either. Regardless, I’ll join the crowd saying the 2025 team was a masterclass from Kyle Shanahan.
The top two players on defense, edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner, were out for the season. Defensive end Mykel Williams followed with a knee injury. Others, like linebacker Dee Winters, were in and out of games due to injuries.
Offensively, it wasn’t much better. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was in and out of the lineup, as was quarterback Brock Purdy. Tight end George Kittle’s season ended in the NFC Wild Card with an Achilles tear. Offensive tackle Trent Williams missed time.
So how did the 49ers go 12-5 and win a playoff game?
The 49ers not only made it to the playoffs, but also bounced the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round. If they only got there because their “schedule was easy,” that game wouldn’t have ended in San Francisco’s favor.
Reality came in the form of the NFC Divisional Round. The 49ers were running on fumes, the short week may or may not have had a hand in it, the Seahawks are simply a much, much better football team.
The last time the 49ers lost to the Seahawks in the playoffs was the 2013-2014 NFC Championship. For me, there’s no comparison: that loss was far, FAR more disappointing, angering, and/or rage-inducing than this. The 49ers team from that year was supposed to be on the rise. They had quarterback Colin Kaepernick, someone we thought had a higher ceiling than Seattle’s signal caller, Russell Wilson. Along with Kaepernick were running back Frank Gore, linebacker Patrick Willis, pass rusher Aldon Smith, and the list goes on.
The 2025 team is held together by duct tape at this point.
What I’m getting at is that I wasn’t expecting much given the 49ers’ state through the 2025 season. What I got was a good foundation for a younger team.
The 49ers started to get a hold of their salary cap in the offseason. Deebo Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders. Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw signed with other teams. The 49ers fielded a young team coming off a 6-11 season.
This team went 12-5 with a chance for the No. 1 Seed in the final week of the regular season. They won a playoff game and gave those young players not just a taste of playoff football but a playoff victory. Brandon Aiyuk and his guaranteed money will be coming back to the team in a year or two, allowing them to...
