Steve Young has long believed the San Francisco 49ers possess the talent to turn their season around. However, after a crushing 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, dropping the team to 5-5, their Super Bowl hopes seem to be slipping away.
Sunday's defeat marked the third time this season the 49ers have suffered a fourth-quarter collapse after holding onto a late lead, a frustrating trend that has left the team searching for answers.
"It's just infuriating, honestly," linebacker Fred Warner said after the game. "It's not like us, but that's just what we've shown this year. So I guess until we stop doing that, then that's who we are."
As he does weekly, Young joined the Dan Patrick Show and was asked if the 49ers are still a Super Bowl contender. It was a question the Hall of Fame quarterback initially seemed reluctant to answer.
"I want to say yes," Young eventually admitted. "Obviously, getting healthy—but how healthy can you get? Defensively, we're in the middle of the pack, maybe a little bit above average. Offensively, in the red zone, last year, the stat that blew my mind ... behind the line of scrimmage passes, screens, all that kind of jet sweeps, all the quick passes behind the line of scrimmage, they led the league in yards per attempt by throwing behind the line of scrimmage last year.
"It was an incredible run, an incredible year of things just working. All the talent, just amazing. And this year, they're not even close to that. Red zone, not even close to what they were last year.
"So, they're not acting like a team that's going to threaten, especially if you talk about the biggest game against one of the big three, [Ravens QB] Lamar [Jackson], [Bills QB] Josh [Allen], and [Chiefs QB] Patrick [Mahomes]."
The 49ers have already lost to Mahomes this season and will soon face one of the other "big three" quarterbacks when they travel to Orchard Park in two weeks to take on the Buffalo Bills, led by Allen.
"I think it's worth paying attention to that game to see if we can get right," Young added.
The 49ers' season is far from over, but their path back into the championship conversation seems to grow more daunting with each passing week.