Despite the ridiculous amount of injuries the San Francisco 49ers have suffered through the first three weeks of this young 2025 NFL campaign—and that's not to mention the ones they were dealing with before the season began—they're still set to enter their Week 4 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars as one of only six remaining undefeated teams in the league, which is nothing short of extraordinary.
But while there's plenty of bad news on the injury front, the most recent piece being the loss of Nick Bosa to a torn ACL, Niners fans actually got some good news this week, as Adam Schefter said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that he believes there's a good chance quarterback Brock Purdy will be back in action this week.
Purdy, of course, led San Francisco to a dramatic comeback victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1, but he missed the last two weeks with a case of turf toe, thus giving Mac Jones a chance to shine. And shine Jones has, completing 66.3 percent of his passes for a combined 563 yards with four touchdowns against just one interception in victories over the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals.
So, no matter who's under center against the Jags, who enter Sunday's matchup with a 2-1 record, the Niners should be in good shape, especially given how well the San Francisco defense has played. The loss of Bosa hurts, of course, but Fred Warner looks like a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and several others have also looked fantastic and will need to continue doing so.
With their 3-0 record, the 49ers currently sit atop the NFC West as the lone undefeated team in the division, with the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Los Angeles Rams all sitting in a tie for second at 2-1.
Week 4 could further aid 49ers in NFC West standings
There are certainly no guarantees in this league—just look at everything that went down in Week 3 for proof—but San Francisco is undoubtedly the favorite against the Jaguars, whose two wins thus far have come against the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans, who own a combined record of 1-5.
So, assuming the 49ers improve to 4-0, they can create a little more separation within the division. For starters, the Seahawks and Cardinals play one another to kick off Week 4 on Thursday Night Football. As such, unless that game results in an unlikely tie, San Francisco could take a two-game lead on the loser. Sure, the winner will still be just one game back, but the fact that the Niners have already beaten both teams would still make it feel more like a two-game lead in light of tiebreakers.
As for the Rams, they're set for a Sunday date with the surprisingly undefeated Indianapolis Colts, who are tied with the Detroit Lions for second in the league in scoring at 34.3 points per game and sit in solo second in average yards per game at 418.7.
But Indy isn't all offense, as the Colts' defense has given up just 18.7 points per game, good for ninth in the NFL, and have allowed only 272.3 yards per game, ranking seventh.
So, Los Angeles is certainly in for a fight. And with the Rams perhaps still reeling after blowing a 19-point lead in a 33-26 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles this past weekend, there's certainly a good chance that they'll be 2-2 when they host the Niners to open Week 5 next Thursday night.
And if not, that matchup simply becomes the battle for first place in the NFC West.