As there have been 25 NFL seasons played since the turn of the century, countless quarter-century lists and teams have been constructed as 2025 has progressed, including our picks for what an All Quarter-Century Team might look like for the San Francisco 49ers.
Another such instance is a recent compilation from ESPN's Bill Barnwell on the top 25 NFL teams of the past 25 years.
Now, it would've been very easy for Barnwell to cop out and simply rank the last 25 Super Bowl winners. And that would undoubtedly be entertaining, even if the Niners wouldn't be included on that list, as everyone knows this historic franchise hasn't hoisted a Lombardi Trophy since the end of the 1994 campaign.
But Barnwell took it upon himself to look at every single team, which is admirable. And while his list is mainly comprised of Super Bowl winners and teams that made a Super Bowl but lost, there are a few (five, to be exact) that failed to make the title game.
And despite the 49ers reaching the Super Bowl three times this century, those being the 2012, 2019, and 2023 teams, the lone San Francisco squad to make the top 25 was one that didn't, as Barnwell opted for the 2011 team that lost the NFC Championship game to the New York Giants.
The 2011 San Francisco 49ers' turnover margin is tied for the best of any NFL team this century
The 2011 season, of course, marked head coach Jim Harbaugh's first year with the 49ers, and he certainly turned things around in a hurry, taking a team that hadn't posted a winning record since 2002 to an NFC West title at 13-3.
Here's a little bit of what Barnwell had to say on why he chose to include this team on his list:
"These 49ers might seem like a curious choice. They lost in the NFC title game to the Giants, who aren't featured in the top 25. The 2012 49ers didn't have as impressive a regular-season record, but with Colin Kaepernick taking over at quarterback, they boat-raced the Packers in the playoffs and made it to the Super Bowl, where they nearly pulled off a 22-point comeback against Baltimore before coming up just short. The 2012 team also did that against a tougher schedule, coming off its first-place finish in 2011.
"I wouldn't fault you for picking the 2012 team, but the 2011 49ers were more imposing on defense, allowing just over 14 points per game. They had three first-team All-Pros on defense (Justin Smith, NaVorro Bowman, and Patrick Willis) and a second-teamer in Carlos Rogers, who had six picks in his best pro season. Coordinator Vic Fangio's defense forced 38 turnovers in a stunning debut season, as the 49ers' turnover margin (plus-28) tied them with the 2010 Patriots for the best from any team over this 25-year span."
It's understandable why he highlights the defense first, as the offense wasn't really anything special, ranking 11th in scoring that season at 23.8 points per game.
That said, though, 2005 No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith did have the most consistent season of his career up to that point, completing a career-best 61.3 percent of his passes for a then-career-high 3,144 yards with 17 touchdowns against just five interceptions, which obviously helped with that record-tying turnover margin.
Frank Gore also deserves his flowers, as he bounced back from a disappointing 2010 by rushing for 1,211 yards and eight touchdowns, earning the first of three consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl.
As the No. 2 seed in the NFC, the Niners earned a bye for the Wild Card Round and then knocked off the New Orleans Saints in an instant classic in the Divisional Round, taking a 36-32 victory.
Unfortunately, however, the dream season was derailed when, as mentioned, San Francisco took a 20-17 overtime loss to the Giants in the NFC title game. As Barnwell points out near the end of his assessment, the defeat was highlighted by a pair of mishandled punts from Kyle Williams, the first of which allowed New York to take the lead in the fourth quarter and the second leading to the game-winning field goal in the extra frame.
The Giants, of course, then went on to upset the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl 46. One has to wonder how the 49ers would have fared against Tom Brady and Co. that day at Lucas Oil Stadium.