After narrowly missing a Super Bowl victory in February, the San Francisco 49ers entered the 2024 season with high aspirations. Regarded at the time as one of the NFL's strongest rosters, the team has faced a challenging first half, impacted heavily by injuries. Despite this, they stand at 4-4, recently claiming a win over the Dallas Cowboys, and aim to build on that momentum after the bye week.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan remains optimistic that the 49ers can still reach their ambitious goals.
"I feel we're capable of doing everything we set out for," Shanahan said this week. "I look at where our team is at and where I think our team can be, and I don't think we're there yet. I think there are a lot of things we need to improve on. I think we are gradually doing that. But I think we've got the guys here capable of doing it. We've just got to make sure we become a better team in the second half than we were in the first half."
The 49ers anticipate the return of key offensive contributors next week, with running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Jauan Jennings expected to practice. McCaffrey has been sidelined all season due to Achilles tendinitis, while Jennings has missed the last two games with a hip injury. Both players would provide a substantial boost to the offense.
With nine games left, the 49ers hope to make a strong second-half push, as they've done in past seasons. That starts with their November 10 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Several other players may also return to the lineup in the final stretch—names like Dre Greenlaw and Yetur Gross-Matos—adding to the 49ers' optimism that they can turn their season around.
"There's a lot of really good players that we can get back to strengthen this team," general manager John Lynch shared during a radio interview this week. "And we loved our team coming into the season. Not where we want to be. We're 4-4, but we've got a lot in front of us, and we're just going to take it week by week.
"And one thing this team has shown the ability under [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] to do is get better throughout the course of the season and play our best ball when it matters most."
