Cris Collinsworth hasn't given up on the San Francisco 49ers. The team may be entering Week 7 with a 2-3 record and riding a three-game losing streak, but the NBC announcer knows things can turn around quickly for Kyle Shanahan's squad.
Collinsworth will be calling the game on Sunday night between the 49ers and Indianapolis Colts. He was in Santa Clara this week to watch practice. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area pulled him aside to talk about the Bay Area team, which has struggled to live up to its potential.
"They're close," Collinsworth responded when asked how he views the 49ers. "I think that's the only way you can say it, is there's some teams that you look at them, and you go, 'OK, they're definitely not making the playoffs.' I mean, we're already to that point in the season now where we're seeing double-digit underdogs in the NFL six weeks into this thing or seven weeks into this thing.
"It's starting to separate at this point, and the 49ers have to hang in there. They're in a tough division. The hardest thing they have to do is those six games in that division they've got to play every year, so that's going to be a tough spot. Can they recover from it? Yeah, they can recover from it, but it has to start now."
Collinsworth acknowledges that time may be running out for the 49ers, though. Sunday's game may represent a must-win situation for the team if they hope to turn the season around. However, it may not be enough to escape Week 7 with a victory.
"They have to be dominant here," Collinsworth said. "... Some years, it's just the Yin and the Yang is kind of working against you, but this team needs to break out of it."
Collinsworth later added: "This is a power football team when they are at their best, their offensive and defensive lines, and you just get the feeling it's still getting there."