Not a lot of people, including the biggest believers of the San Francisco 49ers, predicted that the team would make it to the Super Bowl in 2020. Vegas gave the 49ers 30/1 odds that they would win the Super Bowl before the season began.
When the season started, the 49ers were underdogs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals ended up being the worst team in the league, and the Buccaneers finished with a losing record.
Even when the 49ers extended their winning streak to four, five and eventually eight games, the team still had its doubters. National pundits, like Ryan Clark, called the 49ers "pretenders" because they had an "easy schedule" to start the year and Jimmy Garoppolo was a liability.
Other members of the national media, including Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, sang a similar tune and undermined the 49ers' success the entire year.
Despite the hate, the 49ers flourished proving doubters wrong every step of the way. Tyrann Matheiu, a notable player the 49ers will face in Super Bowl LIV, is included as one of those doubters. In a response to a tweet on October 31, 2019 from Gil Brandt, who acknowledged the 49ers for holding opponents to 100 or fewer passing yards, Matheiu said, "who the hell they been playing against".
Fast forward the script and the 49ers finished the regular season at 13-3, making this their best season since 2011. They made the playoffs after a five-year drought, and will be playing against Matheiu's Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
Even after their 13-3 season, pundits continued to doubt the 49ers throughout the playoffs. Victories ensued in those games, including against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17 and two blowout wins against the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round and NFC Championship Game, respectively.
And now the San Francisco 49ers have made it to the Super Bowl, against all odds and doubters. Yet, there is still a feeling that the 49ers have "pretended" all the way to football's biggest stage.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who represent the AFC, are the favorite to win the Super Bowl this weekend in Miami. The national media has glorified Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and has said that the 49ers will have a hard time stopping him and the Chiefs' offense.
They continue to take shots at Jimmy Garoppolo by saying that he pales in comparison to Mahomes, and that the 49ers allowed him to pass eight times in the NFC Championship because he is a liability.
Not only does Garoppolo have his doubters, but the San Francisco 49ers as a team still has them. And that may just be how Jimmy and the 49ers want it.
There is no question that the Kansas City Chiefs are a formidable opponent. They have the NFL's third-best offense led by Mahomes, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs are explosive, fast and can score quickly as they demonstrated against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round. Down 24-0, the Chiefs scored 51 points in three quarters and beat the Texans 51-31.
But the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl for a reason. They have arguably the most complete team in the NFL when no one expected it.
In retrospect, if you look back to the beginning of the season, the 49ers making it to the Super Bowl is a big surprise. But the San Francisco 49ers might just keep pretending their way to the Lombardi Trophy.
Conor Orr continues his annual tradition of making 100 bold predictions for the upcoming season. That's a lot of predictions to sift through. Luckily for you, I've pulled out the San Francisco 49ers-related ones for this article. That doesn't mean the others aren't worth your time, though. So head over to the Sports Illustrated feature to peruse the remaining 96.
For now, here are Orr's 49ers-related predictions.
49ers-Bengals Super Bowl clash
The good news is that Orr predicts the 49ers to be among the Super Bowl participants in February. The bad news is that he has the Cincinnati Bengals handing San Francisco its third
Could Aaron Rodgers' miserable playoff luck against the San Francisco 49ers continue even after leaving the Green Bay Packers for the New York Jets? NFL.com's Adam Schein believes so. With the 2023 NFL season still 100 days away, the columnist made nine bold predictions, including head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers finally earning the franchise's coveted sixth championship.
Schein has the 49ers beating the Jets in Super Bowl 58, which will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
"The 49ers are the best roster in the NFL, 2-53," Schein explained. "They just need to find that No. 1. Who's poised to man the game's
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead joined NFL Network's Good Morning Football on Thursday to discuss the state of the team at the start of organized team activities (OTAs). Armstead is part of a defensive line that includes NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and added former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
The question that had to be asked: Does San Francisco own the best defensive line in football?
"Well, on paper, I guess you could say that, but 'on paper' doesn't win any game," Armstead responded. "But we're excited about getting together and starting that journey of
It's premature to draw conclusions about a quarterback based on practices in May. That is especially true when you do so based on one practice. The San Francisco 49ers started organized team activities (OTAs) this week, and all eyes were on Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
The two players are battling for that QB2 job behind last season's rookie sensation, Brock Purdy. One could even start Week 1 if Purdy is not healthy enough to do so himself.
Lance is coming off a season-ending ankle injury but looks completely healthy now. Darnold is trying to turn his career around after never living up to his high draft status.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic was on hand for Tuesday's practice, the only one open to reporters so far, and one that Barrows describes as a
