The San Francisco 49ers are in trouble. They sit at 5-5 and are in very real danger of missing out on the playoffs.
While this could be cause for concern, it should actually be viewed as a blessing in disguise for this team.
This may sound counterintuitive or contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian, but the Niners missing the playoffs would be a good thing. San Francisco is emotionally drained and has lost the hunger to win. This was picked up on by some even before the season began.
The 49ers have played in either the NFC Championship game or the Super Bowl in every season since 2019, discounting the 2020 pandemic season. That is a lot of playoff football, and they have exactly zero rings to show for it. All of those losses in the biggest games imaginable cause emotional wear and tear for fans, so just imagine what it must be like for the guys on the field.
Think about what last year's Super Bowl loss must have been like for guys like tight end George Kittle, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, defensive end Nick Bosa, and linebacker Fred Warner. This was their second time losing the Super Bowl to the same team.
How do you continue that same level of motivation, when in the back of your mind, part of you wonders whether you can finally get over the hump?
This isn't a suggestion in any way that players are quitting. But subconsciously, there is a malaise that is palpable. That desire to win is just not there in the same way it was in previous seasons.
Even as a fan, I find myself caring less this season.
The Niners need a shock to the system. Missing the playoffs this year would provide that. Having a year off from playing meaningful football deep into the postseason could rekindle the spark and fire San Francisco is missing.
Some of the players may have just taken it as something of a given that they would make a playoff run pretty much every year. Missing out on the playoffs would provide a much-needed wake-up call to the 49ers that could make them much better in 2025 rather than if they sneak into the postseason and lose in heartbreaking fashion yet again, adding even more emotional scar tissue.
One quote from legendary 49ers linebacker and Hall of Famer Patrick Willis has resonated. He spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco earlier this year about how tough it is to stay motivated after repeated postseason failure.
"It just gets that much harder," Willis said. "You know, you get older. That same hunger, I don't know, I don't want to say it disappears but, man, it gets a little harder."
This is coming from one of the fiercest competitors of his generation. If he says that hunger dies down with each passing year you miss out on a Super Bowl, then you know that it's true.
The 49ers need to rekindle that hunger. They need to sit on their couches this winter and watch as NFC teams they know they are more talented than face off in the postseason.
Perhaps that is the best way to wake this team up and make them competitive again in 2025.