Published in cooperation between Digital Whiskers and the Healdsburg Tribune
Here in Niners country, many fans were overjoyed to hear that Levi’s Stadium would be hosting the Super Bowl this year. The hope was that the 49ers would be able to win a championship on their home turf. Now that we have gone past the halfway point of the season, we should have a better idea of how realistic those dreams are.
The start of the 2025 NFL regular season could not have gone any better. Three wins out of three had the best California sports betting apps talking up a chance of a Niners championship, but performances in the weeks and months since have tempered expectations a little.
Before the season began, most football pundits were looking at the likes of the Eagles and Bills as potential Super Bowl champs. With week 10 now in the books, can we still include the 49ers in the conversation?
Injury Problems
The 49ers have probably been the unluckiest team in the entire NFL this season. No other team has suffered so many injuries to so many important players. Fred Warner and Nick Bosa have been ruled out for the rest of the year, and Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings have all missed significant chunks of time.
It is quite an achievement that we are still able to talk about the team’s chances with all of those big names missing out on a regular basis. We can take that fact one of two ways. Either the Niners will not be able to compete without their best players, or we will become confident that the team has done so well now and can only get better when some of the stars return.
Reliant on Offense
It was bad enough that Warner and Bosa bowed out of the 2025 NFL season at the earliest possible point. But then came the news that one of the emerging defensive players, Mykel Williams, had torn his ACL. The old saying, “It doesn’t rain, it pours,” comes to mind with the Niners seemingly not able to catch a break.
Robert Saleh’s return as defensive coordinator has certainly improved the team, but he is constantly having to field inexperienced players and hope for the best. They have largely delivered, but the current situation is asking a lot. It also heaps more pressure on the offense, as it needs to score more points for the team to remain competitive. It’s mostly working, but is this sustainable?
Tough Division
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the 49ers also have to contend with being part of one of the toughest divisions in the league. Even the Cardinals promised much from back-to-back wins at the beginning of the year, but now Arizona is the only one we can really disregard when it comes to winning the NFC West divisional title.
The good news here is that both the Rams and Seahawks have arguably more difficult remaining schedules. The Niners have some very winnable games coming up and finish off the season with three out of four games at home after a bye week. Beating divisional rivals in the first half of the season puts the Niners in a good position to battle past the injuries to win the division again.
Tough Conference
It might rely on some of the big names being able to come back and play to their highest ability, but a third divisional title in four years is a distinct possibility. But that might bring more difficulties for the 49ers. The NFC looks to be particularly strong this year, with a number of teams vying for the number one seed.
The Eagles look to have the East sewn up, and the Bucs should take the South, but the West and the North are packed with playoff-caliber teams. The good news here is that all of these top teams are losing games to each other as well. So, the 49ers can lose a few and still have a chance of homefield advantage.
Elite Coaching
Kyle Shanahan will be more aware than most that his 49ers roster is rapidly getting towards the end of its championship window. Super Bowl LVIII came as a surprise, but last season should have been the peak opportunity for success. We all know how badly that went, and now injuries are not helping the chances of the aging core of the team.
If any patched-up team is going to go all the way, it will be this San Francisco 49ers team, however—and that’s because of the excellence of the coaches. Shanahan and Saleh, in particular, have shown how adaptable they can be during this stop-and-start campaign and should be proud of just how well the players have responded. If they can keep this up, the Niners will continue to have a chance.
Playoffs, Yes. Super Bowl, Maybe
Triumph in the face of adversity has been the motto of the 2025 San Francisco 49ers, and that is why it is still looking very likely that this team will still be playing football after the beginning of January. Some real hard work was put in during the first half of the regular season—with injuries limiting the team—and now the Niners can reap the rewards.
The postseason should be made, as long as the team does not self-destruct in the final weeks of the season. A lot will then depend on whether the 49ers get to play at home. The prospect of a Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium should act as inspiration, even though the playoffs will be tough. If the 49ers do actually go on to win Super Bowl LX, it will surely be one of the greatest football achievements of recent times.
