By admin 
The San Francisco 49ers have started 4-0 three times under Kyle Shanahan.
The first two instances were 2019 and 2023, with both seasons ending with losses in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. The other, of course, is this season.
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The 49ers have maintained their dominance while continuing to battle injury at two of their most important positions. They’re without four of their top five projected receivers entering training camp. And that doesn’t include No. 1 wideout, Mike Evans, who played through injured ribs last week — or Deebo Samuel, who signed after Ricky Pearsall went down for the year to have knee surgery.
The defensive line has been similarly decimated with three of their top interior players and three of their best defensive ends sidelined, including Nick Bosa, who is working back from a calf injury after missing training camp with knee tendinitis resulting from his recovery from a torn ACL.
Yet the 49ers remain one of five teams to rank in the top 10 in yards per play on offense and defense — while they are the league’s only team to rank top three in both. ESPN stats guru Aaron Schatz calculated this week that the 49ers have the 11th best DVOA through four games since 1977, with four of the teams ranked above them going on to win the Super Bowl (the 2019 49ers ranked ninth on this list, one of three listed teams that went on to lose the Super Bowl).
San Francisco has been buoyed by quarterback Brock Purdy, who is off to the best start of his career and has rocketed up MVP betting odds since the season began. He enters Sunday’s difficult game against the Seattle Seahawks leading the NFL in QBR at 93.7. The distance between No. 1 and No. 2 Lamar Jackson (81.6) is roughly the same distance as No. 2 and No. 7.
Purdy hasn’t been sacked through four games, which has helped with his overall statistical case for MVP. The 49ers lead the NFL in estimated points added per play (0.29) and are far and away the best in EPA per drop back at 0.57 (the Ravens are second at 0.35). Purdy is tied with Kirk Cousins for the NFL lead in passing touchdowns (11), though his 9.7% touchdown rate exceeds Cousins’ 7.6%.
The offensive line has played well, but it’s not the only reason Purdy has been kept clean. The 49ers haven’t trailed in the second half during any of their four games, meaning they’ve been able to fully utilize the breadth of Shanahan’s playbook rather than needing to pass on every down. They’ve also been the second-least penalized team in the NFL.
Finally, the running game is more productive than last season when San Francisco averaged just 3.8 yards per carry. This year that number is back to 4.8, the same number from 2023 when they went to the Super Bowl. Samuel’s return has factored in pretty heavily there, thanks to his 74 yards on just seven attempts. Purdy has also been good as a scrambler, ranking second on the team with 122 rushing yards on 20 carries (6.1 average).
Where can the 49ers improve?
It’s the pass rush.
The 49ers through four games rank 25th in pressure rate, while their six sacks are tied for the fourth fewest in the NFL. The same issues that popped while dealing with so many injuries last season have persisted despite San Francisco making additions to the defensive line in Osa Odighizuwa and fourth-round draft pick Gracen Halton.
Both have played well, but the 49ers still lack the pass rushing force they built their defense around. Bosa being out since Week 2 has been an obvious culprit, but San Francisco has gotten as many sacks from safety Marques Sigle (1.0) as third-round draft pick Romello Height, who was brought in to be a pass rushing specialist. Keion White leads the team with 2.0 sacks on the year.
Not playing from behind has also benefited the 49ers’ defense because the run defense simply hasn’t been good to start games.
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San Francisco enters Sunday allowing 0.26 EPA per rushing attempt in the first quarter, the second-worst mark in the NFL. They allow 4.9 yards per attempt, but that number drops to 3.4 yards per carry over the final three quarters.
Suffice to say, the run defense has been a mixed bag overall. The injuries to Alfred Collins and C.J. West have made them movable up the middle given the lack of a true nose tackle on the roster. Bosa is arguably their best run defender, but he plays defensive end and has been out since Week 2 while 2025 first-round draft pick Mykel Williams is set to make his season debut Sunday after going down with an ACL tear last November.
San Francisco’s elite linebacker play from Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw has cleaned up a lot of their issues defending the run, but it remains to be seen if the run defense can hold up while the 49ers are playing from behind, which hasn’t happened in the second half of a game this season.
Can a move at the trade deadline catapult the 49ers to a Super Bowl?
The 49ers under Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have been one of the NFL’s most aggressive teams making midseason trades.
It started with acquiring Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017. They cemented their receiving corps with Emmanuel Sanders in 2019. They traded for versatile defensive lineman Charles Omenihu in 2021. They made one of the most impactful midseason trades in league history when they acquired Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers in 2022. The following year they traded for Chase Young to help fortify the pass rush en route to the Super Bowl. They decided against making a splashy move last year, like Tre Hendrickson, and went with White for a late-round draft pick.
It’s safe to say the 49ers will give their defensive line a hard look around the Nov. 10 trade deadline. They have needs for a run stuffing defensive tackle (they rank second-to-last in the NFL in stuff rate) and another pass rusher opposite Bosa.
Chargers star Khalil Mack could be an option should Los Angeles continue its tailspin after starting 0-4. Washington’s Daron Payne could make sense at defensive tackle. The biggest fish, who might not be available or could cost too much, would be Tennessee Titans star Jeffrey Simmons, whom the 49ers watched dominate up close at their joint practice over the summer.
But would San Francisco be willing to part with a first-round draft pick next spring in what’s expected to be a loaded draft class?
It could be the difference between them finally lifting their sixth Lombardi Trophy come February or coming up painfully short again.
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