The San Francisco 49ers are led to their Super Bowl, looking to win a sixth. But how can they make it all ?
The 49ers as a company are interchangeable with 90s, the NFL dynasty of the 1980s and Super Bowl success, winning their first five visits on each to set.
Steve Young, joe Montana, Jerry Rice; the earlier successes of San Francisco were built around the very best of the very best on offense. This year’s team, however, stacks up a bit differently…
The jump to Super Bowl finalists of san Francisco is remarkable when considering this is a 4-12 team – that the second-worst album in soccer – and – 6-10 in mind coach Kyle Shanahan’s first season in charge.
One thing which has changed, thankfully for the faithful, is they’ve had their quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo available to them for the complete season. The Niners’ record with him is 4-20 over the last two seasons [factoring in his mid-season singing in 2017 and 2018 harm ] and a shocking 21-5 on the field with him.
But it’s not ever been Jimmy G that has had this group rolling this year – though he has flashed at points – it’s their run game, constructed around Shanahan’s ingenious scheme, and devastating defense that has driven his success.
San Francisco are second on the season in the two categories, using their 144.1 rushing yards per game second only to probably league MVP Lamar Jackson’s record-breaking Baltimore Ravens unit, even while in addition they slot in second against the New England Patriots in total defense (281.8 YPG enabled ).
Not a good deal. The 49ers came from the gate quickly, driving an eight-game win streak – the highlights of which turned into a 31-3 Monday Night Football beat-down of this much-fancied Cleveland Browns, a 20-7 road win over divisional rivals and Super Bowl runners-up out of one year before, the Los Angeles Rams, along with a 51-13 shellacking of the Carolina Panthers.
But, as has been the situation in the Russell Wilson era in Seattle, the 49ers’ pleasure was stopped by their biggest of foes this past decade as the Seahawks came to Santa Clara and escaped with a 27-24 overtime victory.
Injuries started to creep in, threatening to derail the season, most especially to left tackle Joe Staley, border rusher Dee Ford – a big-money acquisition in the offseason – to fullback Kyle Juszczyk, therefore important to the Shanahan’s run plot, to linebacker Kwon Alexander, kicker Robbie Gould and talismanic tight end George Kittle.
The other side of this Seattle reduction, the lowly 5-10-1 Arizona Cardinals played San Fran demanding while further defeats came on the road in Baltimore and using a shocker at home to the Atlanta Falcons.
That saida 37-8 blowout of this Green Bay Packers, a 48-46 shootout triumph over New Orleans Saints at the Superdome along with a sweep of the Rams were interspersed with such drawbacks, and the 49ers got revenge over the Seahawks at Seattle in Week 17 to secure the No 1 seed in the NFC.
Nick Bosa. Jimmy G has said it himself, speaking to his torn ACL injury from a year which contributed to the 49ers tanking and obtaining the rookie pass rusher using the No 2 pick from the 2019 Draft as”a blessing in disguise”.
While a variety of players can lay claim to this name, such as Garoppolo himself, Kittle, defensive leader and shut-down cornerback Richard Sherman or a single from their committee of springs – Raheem Mostert the most notable breakout star – it is Bosa who’s the last piece to this possibly championship-winning jigsaw.
San Francisco’s defensive line has become the star of this showwreaking havoc on resistance quarterbacks into 57 sacks’ song, along with more pressures.
They’ve shared the wealth, using their front four every tallying more than seven sacks within the regular season and playoffs; Ford includes 7.5, DeForest Bucker 8.5, although it’s Arik Armstead and Bosa leading the way with 12 apiece, three of Bosa’s coming in the added pressure-cooker surroundings of the playoffs.
From the movie, the shield has been back to the best, benefitting from the recurrence of Ford and Alexander.
The Niners D was marginally marginally down the stretch of the regular season; with allowed an average of just 12.8 points per game Weeks 1-9, that number more than doubled to 26 PPG thereafter with one of, or both, of Ford and Alexander outside injured.
Nevertheless, rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw full of richly for Alexander, particularly, and were it not for his goal-line cease in the dying moments of this 26-21 triumph over Seattle in Week 17, San Francisco could have slipped out of the No 1 into the No 5 seed along with their path to the Super Bowl would have seemed very different.
Instead, the 49ers have experienced the relaxation of a bye along with just two home meetings with the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay, where they’ve run out comfortable 27-10 and 37-20 champions, respectively – the scorelines not even true reflections of their utter dominance in both matches.
The defense sacked Kirk Cousins six times, limited the Vikings to just seven first downs complete and restricted Dalvin Cook rushing yards. Subsequently, a week after, the Niners hurried into a enormous 27-0 half-time lead within the No 2 seeded Packers, Mostert finishing with a shocking 220 yards and four TDs on 29 carries and Garoppolo reduced into a mere bystander.
If the previous two years have unequivocally belonged to Tom Brady and the Patriots, the 1990s were certainly the Dallas Cowboys’, while the 80s saw San Francisco dominate.
The 49ers capped the 1981, 1984 and 1988 seasons with Super Bowl victories, led by the legendary head coach Bill Walsh, although they won the big game again in 1989 and 1994 under George Seifert’s direction; Montana quarterbacked the initial four wins, Young the last of these to famously’catch the monkey off his back’.
It meant that San Francisco were the only group to hold a 100 percent win percent over multiple trips to the Super Bowl, a record that stood before defeat into the Ravens – who took that name from them with their second win in 2 excursions – to their last trip seven years ago.
On that event, Jim Harbaugh’s team overcame a 22-point deficit and stadium finishing early in the second half of Super Bowl XLVII at New Orleans to track by just five at 34-29 in the last two minutes of this match. They must within five yards of taking and scoring the lead, just for Colin Kaepernick turn the ball over on downs and to thrown incompletions.
The 49ers would fall a year losing to these Seahawks, and have not had a year – let alone a playoff appearance – since.
The faithful are optimistic a 2020 success down in Miami indicates a decade of dominance for the franchise.
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