Bleacher Report suggests painful reality for 49ers after debacle vs. Chiefs

The 49ers have been a Super Bowl contender for a while, but the Week 7 loss to the Chiefs revealed plenty of flaws, and there's a tough pill to swallow in the aftermath.

Week 7's showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs was supposed to be an epic rematch of Super Bowl 58, a game in which the Niners were aiming to go toe to toe with the defending NFL champions and potentially hand KC its first defeat of the season.

Instead, San Francisco was embarrassed on its home turn, falling 28-18 in a game marked by poor special teams, red-zone ineffectiveness and turnovers.

Sure, injuries continue biting the 49ers, and star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk potentially suffered a torn ACL in the game, adding to the long list of setbacks head coach Kyle Shanahan has dealt with this season on the injury front.

But, considering Kansas City is also dealing with the injury bug but still found ways to wholly outclass the Niners, it's almost a moot point.

Dealing with adversity was something Fox Sports' color commentary Tom Brady pointed out during the game, noting how KC handled it well, while San Francisco did not.

Now at 3-4, the 49ers no longer look like the marquee team within the conference. Given how odd things have felt around the Niners all year long after falling short in the Super Bowl last February, one can fairly wonder if their window for winning the final game of the year has finally closed.

According to the folks over at Bleacher Report, it has.

B/R suggests 49ers' reign atop NFC has come to an end

Kansas City remains a top team in the NFL. San Francisco, meanwhile, seems far from such a claim.

And that's what B/R concluded, using much of what went down in Week 7 as justification:

"San Francisco's game against Kansas City was, of course, a rematch of Super Bowl LVIII. It certainly doesn't feel like these two teams will face each other again in February. The 49ers have appeared in the last three NFC title games and in four of the last five. However, their streak of deep postseason runs is poised to end. ...

There's still hope, of course. The 49ers will reach their bye in Week 9, and they may still go on a run when and if they get healthier. Getting past the wild-card round, though, could be a struggle."

B/R also pointed out the painfully obvious: red-zone struggles, injuries and the rise of other NFC teams, such as the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, aspects that'll ultimately derail the 49ers' chances of making it to yet another NFC Championship game.

It'd be one thing if the Niners simply lost to KC, citing they didn't play their best football. Tack on the two ugly losses to two other NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 and the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, and it's safe to assume something is very, very off with San Francisco in 2024.

Given the amount of expected turnover in 2025, thanks to the 49ers being pressed up against the salary cap and still needing to pay quarterback Brock Purdy, the inevitable conclusion is their Super Bowl window has closed.

Judging by the vibes the Niners have given off thus far, it's hard to conclude anything else.

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