49ers fans must calm down after San Francisco's 2-game losing streak
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers may have lost two games in a row, but history tells us this isn't the end-all, be-all of where they'll finish up the season.
Consider this a simple PSA for San Francisco 49ers fans.
Either way, it's not too analytical. More just suggestive but with fact-based arguments to support.
The Niners are on a two-game losing streak. They're 5-2 now, and losing streaks stink. Especially for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, and especially because both losses to the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings were, in all seriousness, very much winnable. Even in the waning seconds.
Yet "could have won" and "won" are two very different statements. And they're different frames of mind, too. Just ask any NFL fan whose team lost over the weekend.
"It's the end of the world."
Tack on a two-game losing streak in those circumstances? Well, that has to be the end of the universe.
Look, it's OK to be all doom and gloom about San Francisco's two-game skid. The offense is struggling, quarterback Brock Purdy has come back down to earth, edge Nick Bosa and the pass rush is almost nonexistent, and the defense is permeable.
All bad, right? Especially the 5-2 record instead of a 7-0 one, right?
We're here, though, to get you back feeling good again. Because the 49ers have been here before.
Super Bowl-winning 49ers of 1994 started off 5-2
Dust off your Niners history books for a moment here. Because history does have a way of repeating itself.
OK, San Francisco might not be replicating its last Super Bowl victory from the 1994 season. That was a powerhouse team comprised of All-Pros at every level, and it was built to finally overcome the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. The Super Bowl was merely an afterthought.
Nevertheless, quarterback Steve Young and Co. started off that season 5-2, too. And even though there were no two-game losing streaks, the 49ers failed to reach 20 points in either one of those two games.
In the end, the 5-2 start didn't matter.
For what it's worth, the 1981 Niners started off 1-2 and won the franchise's first Super Bowl, while the Super Bowl-winning 1988 squad actually started off 5-3. Then, in 2012 under head coach Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco started off 5-2 and made it to the Super Bowl regardless.
It's not a terrible way to begin a season.
Even Kyle Shanahan's 49ers have struggled early before getting hot late
Take a look at both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Both of those years started off worse than what the 2023 49ers are going through right now.
In 2021, head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad started off 3-5 and seemed poised for a top-10 NFL Draft pick instead of a trip into the postseason. And while there was very little room for error after that point, the Niners of that season finished 10-7 and made it to the NFC Championship game.
A year later, San Francisco started off 3-4 but made it back to the NFC Championship game regardless.
5-2 to begin the year is hardly a problem. Heck, the 49ers could theoretically lose two more games and still be very much in the hunt for a high playoff seed, particularly if control of the NFC West is maintained.
So, while there are elements of the Niners worth worrying about (there always will be), don't fret a two-game losing streak.
It'll end soon enough. Perhaps on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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