Optimistic reasons why 49ers bounce back from slow start to 2022

Reason No. 4: No team is running away with NFC West

True, the NFC West might not be the gauntlet of a division it was a year ago. The Seahawks are infinitely worse without quarterback Russell Wilson, the Rams may be experiencing something of a Super Bowl hangover and the Arizona Cardinals aren’t exactly awe-inspiring.

Los Angeles is 2-1. The other three teams, including San Francisco, are 1-2. Should the 49ers end up beating LA in Week 4, they’d catapult to first place within the division because of the head-to-head matchups and overall division record (2-0).

An honest assessment of the NFC West suggests 10 or 11 wins could feasibly win the division this year, and that’s well within reach for Kyle Shanahan’s squad.

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In fact, the entirety of the NFC is still quite open for grabs. Aside from the 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles, the rest of the conference is either 2-1 or 1-2.

Simply put, no one has separated from the rest of the pack.

Should the Niners string together some wins, their own 1-2 start to the year would quickly be forgotten.

And based on the previously noted optimistic reasons listed here, there is a good likelihood of such a thing happening.