Outside of all the injuries, the San Francisco 49ers have gotten off to a pretty perfect start this season. They’re 4-0 on the season and currently lead the NFC West. Everything seems to be going swimmingly, but the Niners know how quickly things can change.
While the Niners have to be heartened by the fact that the last two times they started the season 4-0 under head coach Kyle Shanahan, they made it to the Super Bowl, the most recent occasion, 2023, was not smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination.
The Niners began that season 5-0 with a massive win on Sunday Night Football over the Dallas Cowboys. They seemed somewhat unstoppable, especially with the way quarterback Brock Purdy was playing, but the next three weeks brought the team crashing back down to reality.
49ers have already learned hot starts don't alway sequal hot finishes
San Francisco lost its next three games to the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Cincinnati Bengals. They simply played bad football, and everyone began to question whether they were the top dog in the NFC.
Thankfully, the bye week came in Week 9, and following that, they went on a roll, going 7-2 in their final nine games to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but that hiccup in the middle of the season is something that could rear its ugly head in 2026.
Week 5 presents the toughest matchup of the season against the Seattle Seahawks. It wouldn’t shock anyone if San Francisco lost the game. Even if the Niners take them down to improve to 5-0, they’re not out of the woods yet.
Games against the Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons may seem like matchups that aren’t particularly scary on paper, but those teams are still dangerous, especially with Jayden Daniels returning for Washington and Michael Penix Jr. spearheading Atlanta's return to relevancy.
Every game is a challenge in the NFL, but San Francisco has already gotten some of its “easy” games out of the way. The Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals hardly presented threats, so the red and gold cannot allow themselves to be lulled into a false sense of security. The schedule is only going to get harder as the season goes on.
A 4-0 start is certainly better than the alternative, but the Niners are experienced enough to know that a good start to the season does not guarantee anything, so they have to remain vigilant and keep their foot on the gas no matter what.
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