The 49ers opened the 2025 NFL season with three consecutive victories. Now, they head into the idle week on another three-game win streak.
“It’s finally here,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of the bye week. “Mentally and physically, it will be awesome to rest. We’ll be able to come back from that with four games to play for a chance to get in the playoffs.
“It’s all you can ask for.”
The 49ers have gotten to 9-4 on the season in unique fashion. They have received contributions from a lot of different places. Currently, they hold the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoff picture.
Because two teams in front of them — the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers — meet up in Week 14, the 49ers are guaranteed to move up at least one spot before they return to work next week.
But this is not a bye week for 49ers Overreactions, as we plow straight ahead as the regular season winds down.
Special teams went from the worst in the league last year to perhaps the best this year (@branallen1)
Overreaction? No.
There is no area of the 49ers that has seen a bigger improvement over last season than special teams. And for that, first-year 49ers special teams coordinator Brant Boyer deserves a ton of credit.
The 49ers’ special teams last year were abysmal. Just awful. And it was all aspects of special teams. Their kicker could not put the ball through the uprights; they had a revolving door at punter; their coverage units were atrocious. And, just to top it off, it seemed as if there was a penalty flag thrown every time special teams took the field.
Skyy Moore has been excellent as a return specialist. And backup running back Brian Robinson Jr. has made his mark in the return game, too.
Jake Moody kicked his way out of a job, and the 49ers turned to Eddy Piñeiro, who is 22 of 22 on field goals, including 6-for-6 from beyond 50 yards. And for the two games Piñeiro was out, veteran Matt Gay stepped in and was perfect, too.
The 49ers’ improved special teams play was on full display on Sunday with another strong showing. The 49ers had an average starting point 22 yards better than the Cleveland Browns, who were as bad on Sunday as the 49ers were a year ago.
Adversity has shaped this team into a legit contender & Shanny is 100% coach of the year. (@crystalscuor)
Overreaction? No.
It does appear as if the 49ers have embraced the challenge of playing without some of their top players, such as Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. Even when Brock Purdy and George Kittle were sidelined, the backups stepped in and contributed to some key victories.
Yes, they seemed to have risen to the occasion with a certain degree of toughness and resilience.
Coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff mostly have pushed all the right buttons. And while Shanahan has been worthy of strong Coach of the Year consideration through 13 games, there is at least one other obvious contender.
Mike Vrabel, in his first season in New England, already has led the Patriots to seven more victories than a year ago. He is certain to garner a lot of support, too.
But seeing it up close, it is easy to make a compelling case for Shanahan bringing home the hardware this time.
That 39-second drive, into the wind, against one of the league’s best defenses, when most teams would head to the locker room, showed the Brock is back and might mark the start of what looked to be an improbable run three weeks ago. (@MichaelSmyth)
Overreaction? Yes.
Not to diminish what Purdy did on Sunday, but he is going to have to string together some strong games before anybody can say that he’s back to producing at the level that prompted the 49ers to sign him to the five-year, $265 million contract extension.
Shanahan said it was a difficult decision at the end of the first half to mash the accelerator and go for points while moving into the wind. Purdy rewarded Shanahan for the confidence he showed in his quarterback, completing three straight passes to enable the 49ers to take a 10-8 lead at halftime on a short field goal.
That sequence had to feel good for Purdy, who later added a touchdown pass and a touchdown run to help the 49ers put the game away.
Purdy did not do anything flashy. On a blustery day in Cleveland, it was important that he provided the 49ers with a steady hand, get rid of the ball to avoid sacks and not have any costly giveaways.
He did everything asked of him to help engineer the road victory.
Tackling 101… they need to review notes from that class. (@9erfan59)
Overreaction? No.
The 49ers held their second straight opponent to less than 10 points. But, yes, there are still plenty of things on defense to clean up.
There were times that the Browns’ running game looked unstoppable. The 49ers need to do a better job of wrapping up and stopping the ball carrier.
The 49ers missed 15 tackles, according to PFF, and 106 of Cleveland’s 138 rushing yards came after contact. Yet, when the 49ers needed a big stop, they came through.
One of the big plays came in the first quarter when Malik Mustapha and Jordan Elliott combined to stuff Cleveland running back Quinshon Judkins on a fourth-and-1 play.