After a resilient, chaotic win at Lumen Field on Sunday, the 49ers are 5-0 and staring down at the Seahawks and Rams in the NFC West standings.
Brock Purdy is playing some of the best football of his career, a defense anchored by Fred Warner is a top-10 unit, and Kyle Shanahan’s team has survived another wave of major injuries to emerge as an early Super Bowl contender.
Here are five things we’ve learned about the 49ers through the first five weeks of the season.
The Shanahan-Purdy connection fuels confidence
The 49ers’ offense hasn’t been flawless, but every time Shanahan has needed a big drive to put a game away, Purdy has delivered.
With George Kittle hampered by the flu and Deebo Samuel sidelined with a hamstring injury, Purdy led a 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive Sunday by looking Mike Evans’ way on nearly every dropback. Evans’ seven-catch, 113-yard performance was his best in a 49ers uniform, and it was all the more impressive given that the veteran receiver is gutting through a rib injury.
In Week 4 against Denver, Purdy and the offense had three second-half touchdown drives, including a nine-play, 74-yard fourth-quarter series that put San Francisco up by two scores.
Raheem Morris has delivered change
Morris is the 49ers’ fifth defensive coordinator in five years and the first to make significant changes to Shanahan’s preferred 4-3 scheme. Morris often deploys five-man fronts, regularly blitzes Warner and Dre Greenlaw, and has done a masterful job limiting explosive plays.
The 49ers’ four takeaways against the Seahawks were their most since a November 2023 win over Jacksonville. Their average of 18.6 points allowed ranks third in the NFL. Perhaps most important, the defense has found ways to win without Nick Bosa — something the 49ers have struggled to do since the star edge rusher arrived in 2019.
The rookie class can play
Top draft pick De’Zhaun Stribling is out with an ankle injury, but several other 2026 draftees have already made important contributions. Second-round pick Romello Height is generating pressure, third-rounder Kaelon Black is a solid backup to Christian McCaffrey, and fourth-rounder Gracen Halton turned in the defensive play of the season with his strip-and-score Sunday against the Seahawks.
Fifth-round linebacker Jaden Dugger had his best game Sunday, finishing second on the team to Warner with nine tackles and adding a sack.
The 49ers might not have any superstars from this year’s draft class, but the newcomers are filling cracks on a roster that needed more youth.
Every opponent is beatable
The 49ers are 3-0 against NFC West foes after registering a dominant Week 1 win over the Rams and escaping Lumen Field with a victory against the Seahawks. There’s no guarantee the 49ers will go 6-0 in the division, but their rematches against L.A. and Seattle will take place at Levi’s Stadium.
Matchups against the undefeated Vikings (in Mexico City) and Chiefs (on the road in December) loom, but the schedule is setting up favorably toward the end of the season. The 49ers play the winless Chargers in Week 15, an Eagles team that’s in disarray in Week 17, and a Cardinals squad that should be playing for draft position in Week 18.
Expect reinforcements
This is setting up to be an all-in season, so don’t be surprised if Shanahan and GM John Lynch part with a future first-round pick or two to acquire a star ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline. The 49ers need more help along the defensive line, especially on the interior, and could probably use another reliable wide receiver.
Many key players — Bosa, Stribling, Kyle Juszczyk, Demarcus Robinson, and more — should return, but others will get hurt. The right acquisitions could turn the 49ers from a contender into a Super Bowl front-runner.