San Francisco 49ers Kickoff Season with Championship Aspirations

By Liam O’Connor

Sep 8,2023

(49ers defense celebrates after an interception by Linebacker Fred Warner)

The San Francisco 49ers will kick off their season on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at 10:00 am Pacific Time. Although they are still a top five ranked team in most NFL power rankings, there are still many questions about if they can get back to that top spot. For the 49ers it isn’t a new thing to be one of the last teams standing, but they have had trouble with winning those tough games. The 49ers were in Super Bowl 54 just three years ago, but blew a 20-10 lead with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Then in 2021 they lost to the Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford after blowing a 17-7 lead in the 4th quarter. Although these losses were both heartbreaking, last seasons loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game was arguably the worst loss they have suffered. They came into the game as 3 point underdogs and their quarterback Brock Purdy suffered an injury to his UCL on the first drive of the game. Watching that game it just felt as if they never had a chance due to the lack of the ability to throw the ball. They lost that game 31-7, and the Eagles went on to lose the Super Bowl.

(Quarterback Brock Purdy suffers a torn UCL after a hit from Eagles Linebacker Haason Reddick)

The 49ers will come into Sunday’s Game as 2 point favorites even while being on the road. The Steelers are a good up and coming young team, but with the 49ers veteran experience and much more talented roster they should win this game. This season will be another challenge for the 49ers as they have the 14th hardest schedule out of all 32 NFL teams. They were able to keep a lot of the star players from last seasons team and even add some new faces such as Defensive lineman Javon Hargrove and Kicker Jake Moody, but have lost some star power with players like safety Jimme Ward leaving to sign with the Texans. At the moment I am writing this article, they are 3rd in Super Bowl Winner odds just behind the Cincinnati Bengals and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers will be looking to dominate opposing defenses this season through their backfield which is led by Superstar Running Back Christian McCaffrey who is coming off his best season, and backup Running back Elijah Mitchell who is arguably the best backup in the league. Kyle Shanahan is clearly still the offensive mastermind that he has always been, and hopefully is working on more ways that the running game can improve. Even with the loss of defensive Coordinator Demeco Ryans, the hiring of Steve Wilks will hopefully boost this defense to be better than ever and be ranked Number 1 for the 3rd time in 4 years. With Nick Bosa returning on the largest defensive contract in NFL history and star linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw signing extensions, this defense should be better than ever. There has always been questions the last few years in regarded to the quarterback position, and who can be the leader of this team to the Lombardi Trophy. Through the end of last year we got a glimpse of a franchise quarterback in Brock Purdy, who was undefeated in every game he started and finished from Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins all the way to the NFC divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys. Although during training camp Purdy has struggled with throwing interceptions, we can only hope that he will continue on the foundation he built last season and lead the team back to a title game. This season will be a very fun one to watch, as the 49ers seek a revenge tour after an embarrassing exit last year and try to go for the franchises 6th Lombardi Trophy. I can’t wait to watch this team through the good and bad and be able to report it here. Let’s go Niners!