49ers still have these reasons to be thankful despite tumultuous 2024 season

Entering Week 13 and Thanksgiving weekend, the San Francisco 49ers may not be satisfied with their season thus far and have a litany of reasons not to be thankful.

They are coming off a 38-10 blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, after all, which pretty much dealt an unrecoverable blow to the Niners' evaporating playoff chances.

While there are many questions and points to criticize on how the 2024 season has gone, here are four things the 49ers have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

1. The 49ers are in the NFC West

That's right. The division has belonged to San Francisco the past two seasons, and many thought that would be the case again this year.

However, at 5-6 and their next game coming away from home against the Buffalo Bills, the 49ers can be grateful no one else is exactly running away with the division.

After the Seattle Seahawks just beat the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, those two teams are atop the division at 6-5. Both the Los Angeles Rams and the Niners are a game back at 5-6.

So far, the 49ers are 1-3 against their own division. The beat Seattle on the road in Week 6 convincingly. Unfortunately, all three losses against the NFC West have come by three points or less, and San Francisco currently doesn't hold tiebreakers over its divisional rivals.

Furthermore, in the last five seasons, the NFC West division winner has represented the conference in the Super Bowl three times. The 49ers did so in 2019 as well as last year, while the Rams did so in 2022.

Thus, hailing from the NFC West does have its perks and advantages. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and his players are surely grateful they don't play in divisions like the NFC North or NFC East with more than one team owning a winning record with multiple games above .500 ball.

2. 49ers' run game did not vanish without Christian McCaffrey

Running back Christian McCaffrey was the league's leading rusher a season ago, yet the reigning Offensive Player of the Year missed San Francisco's first eight games due to an Achilles injury.

In his place, third-year talent Jordan Mason filled in nicely. He had three games with over 100 yards rushing in his first four on the season including a score in each of those contests.

Mason failed to duplicate those numbers ever since. However, San Francisco won three out of the four games from Weeks 6 through 10 ( note a Week 9 bye).

Rookie rusher Isaac Guerendo has also been utilized. He racked up 227 yards on 38 carries and a touchdown. Dual-threat wide receiver Deebo Samuel has been featured in running packages as well, including a score in the second quarter in the season opener against the New York Jets.

Quarterback Brock Purdy has carried the ball 51 times this season and is averaging more than 5 yards per carry, too. The 49ers hurler actually has more rushing touchdowns than Mason does (four to three).

Currently, McCaffrey is rushing a career low with just 3.5 yards per carry. San Francisco is certainly grateful he is back, though, to help the offense score at will like it did last year.

3. 49ers drafted two wide receivers and re-signed Jauan Jennings

Like 2020, the injury bug has raided the 49ers' locker room.

The focal-point injury was one suffered by wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Mere weeks after inking his long-term contract extension right out the season's outset, he went down to an ACL and MCL tear. In his place, veteran Jauan Jennings has picked up where he left off following his breakout performance in Super Bowl LVIII.

Instead of letting him walk in free agency last offseason, San Francisco inked Jennings to return. He was certainly Purdy's favorite target in Week 3 against the Rams where "Third and Jauan" was targeted a dozen times and hauled in 11 grabs for 175 and a trio of touchdowns.

The 49ers also turned to the 2024 NFL Draft to bring in two more receivers, Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing.

Pearsall suffered a gunshot wound to the chest in an attempted robbery prior to the regular season opener, and the rookie has played in just five games this season as a result.

His contributions in Weeks 8 and 10 helped San Francisco win against the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both of which were division leaders last season. Pearsall netted four receptions in both games and recorded his first receiving touchdown against Tampa Bay on the road.

The trio of wideouts has taken some of the workload and pressure off Samuel, McCaffrey, Mason and tight end George Kittle, and the 49ers can rejoice on their draft selections and be thankful the backup was already on the depth chart when Aiyuk's season ended prematurely.

4. 49ers offense is still actually kind of golden

Yeah, at 5-6, who would have thought that a team would have a top-five offense in the league.

But the Niners do!

The 49ers tally the fourth most yards per game with 384.5, while their passing offense also ranks fourth best with 246.2 yards per contest. San Francisco's ground game is also fierce as it ranks seventh in the NFL with 138.4 yards a game.

Purdy and Co. have scored 260 points in 11 games. Through Week 12, only 13 other teams have scored more, and seven of them are in the NFC. Of those seven teams, just one does not look like they will make the playoffs (New Orleans Saints).

The Packers, Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Minnesota Vikings are the others.

That's good company to be in if you are the Niners.

Despite missing Week 12 against the Packers, Purdy has thrown for 2,613 yards this season, and he has thrown for at least 230 yards in every game he's played but two (both losses).

Of their remaining six opponents, five of them allow more than 320 yards of offense a game. Only the Miami Dolphins do not, as they are a few games below .500 themselves.

There are not easy games left on the 49ers' schedule. They travel to take on the Buffalo Bills in Week 13 and have two other road games against Miami and Arizona. The Niners will still host the Rams, Lions, and Bears before the regular season wraps up.

San Francisco should be grateful for a great offense. It has been keeping the team in most games. Just ignore losses to the Chiefs and the Packers, and that should cover our bases as we head into Thanksgiving.

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