The San Francisco 49ers head into the 2025 NFL season off a down year last campaign, recording a 6-11 record and finishing last in the NFC West. With Week 1 a few weeks away, an NFL analyst sees the 49ers' season going in two directions.
San Francisco will be getting back Christian McCaffrey, who only appeared in four games last season after dealing with multiple injuries in 2024. The question is whether having McCaffrey back fully healthy, Robert Saleh returning as the defensive coordinator, and other offseason moves are enough to boost their win total from last season?
On Thursday, NFL analyst Brian Baldinger appeared on 95.7 The Game's "The Morning Roast" and gave his outlook for the 49ers' 2025 season.
"I feel like the 49ers are right there at around the 10-win mark," Baldinger said. "But at some point, this is what's going to happen: this team is either going to come together and click, and you're going to see a good team, or it's just going to be an up-and-down season. And you're going to go, they're not the same 49ers that we saw for three years.
"And teams that come together, you know it. You just can feel it. The camaraderie, the chemistry, how they win games. You're not questioning the coach on Monday or Sunday night. That's going to happen. It's either going to happen at some point, or it's not going to happen. You're going to go, boy, that was a lousy year."
The Los Angeles Rams are back to being a thorn on the 49ers' side after they were the only team in the postseason to give the Philadelphia Eagles any trouble on their way to winning the Super Bowl. However, it's not the Rams that will only pose a problem to San Francisco in the NFC West.
Last season, the Seattle Seahawks won 10 games and have an impressive defense that recorded 45 sacks and 160 quarterback hurries as a unit in 2024. Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals also won eight games last year and are heading into Year 3 with head coach Jonathan Gannon.
If the 49ers want to hit the 10-win or more mark and click as Baldinger predicts, they must take care of business within their division because these games alone will be challenging despite having the easiest schedule in 2025, per Sharp Football Analysis.