San Francisco Shocker As 49ers Ranked As Top-Five Contender for Super Bowl originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Do fans of the San Francisco 49ers believe they are back to being one of the NFC’s Super Bowl contenders?
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If not, maybe they’re behind.
Or maybe Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio is just sort of scatter-shooting when he says he believes San Francisco is suddenly once again is a top-five powerhouse in its conference.
“In the NFC, it’s the Eagles, Lions, Rams, 49ers and Commanders. Maybe the Buccaneers. Maybe the Vikings,” Florio wrote.
There is precedent for the the sort of turnaround that would require; indeed, the NFL system is set up for bad teams to get good again.
And …
This team was the Super Bowl runner-up in 2023 … and then dipped to finishing last in the NFC West in 2024.
Can the roller-coaster happen again? Going up?
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It might be – just as 2024 very much was – all about injuries.
Consider this: Superstar running back Christian McCaffrey dealt with a lower leg issue at the beginning of the 2024 season, and just when he was healthy enough to play four games in the middle of the schedule, he was sidelined again with a knee injury.
It was a lost year … and it was the encore to McCaffrey’s 2023 Offensive Player of the Year effort.
So it was a roller-coaster for him, too.
He has made it clear that he is fully committed to returning to top form in 2025 now that he is back healthy after a longer offseason. McCaffrey’s return is a much-needed boost for the 49ers’ offense, as the 49ers’ team success has been directly tied to the play of their ball-carrier McCaffrey.
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San Francisco was 10-1 after trading for him in 2022. The next season, McCaffrey won the rushing title and powered the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance.
Last year was his first major injury scare since joining the Niners, and the team’s 6-11 record shows just how much of an impact his absence made.
If things are clicking with McCaffrey and the offense, it means bad news for the rest of the NFC West. And it means a top-five prediction might come true.
Related: 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey-Led Run Game Benefits From Best ‘Building Block’ Lineman
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
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