(Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando’s Pick Six of Dec. 15, 2025.)
4. The 49ers’ 10-4 record is their third-best in the past 12 seasons. Here’s what makes them special (and why it could fool them in the offseason).
The first field goal try Eddy Piñeiro missed after making his first 23 this season wound up producing the largest single-play EPA gain (+3.4) for the 49ers in Week 15.
That’s because officials flagged Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons for a personal foul, nullifying the miss and giving San Francisco a first down. The drive ended with Piñeiro connecting from 37 yards.
It’s been that kind of season for the 49ers on special teams.
They rank first by a wide margin among all teams since 2000 in year-over-year change in special teams EPA per game, per TruMedia.
Gaining more than a touchdown in value (7.1 points) per game on these plays is sensational for the 49ers, whose 37-24 victory over Tennessee on Sunday featured, appropriately, the NFL’s third-best special teams output in Week 15 (+5.9).
Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer, who spent 2016-24 with the Jets, should feel great about the historic turnaround. But as the 49ers evaluate themselves in the offseason, they should build into their thinking that regression is very likely.
On Sunday, the Titans missed a 50-yard field goal as the first half ended (+2.0 EPA for the 49ers). Tennessee also kicked off out of bounds (+1.1 EPA). Piñeiro, with the assist from Simmons, made all three of his field goal attempts. He has made all 25 tries this season, including six from beyond 50 yards, after incumbent Jake Moody missed 10 tries last season.
Are the 49ers going to make their first 25 tries next season, or in any future season? Probably not, but those gains are easy to take for granted once a season is finished.
Kyle Shanahan deserves strong consideration for NFL Coach of the Year regardless.
San Francisco has played 11 games without pass rusher Nick Bosa, eight without linebacker Fred Warner, eight without quarterback Brock Purdy, five without tight end George Kittle and a combined 11 more without their two most recent first-round picks, Ricky Pearsall and Mykel Williams. Bosa (five), Warner (four), Purdy (one) and Kittle (six) have combined for 16 Pro Bowl appearances. Those four are earning a combined $127 million in average annual salary.
The 49ers have also overcome the bizarre situation involving former No. 1 receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who has not played since suffering a knee injury in Week 7 last season, and is now estranged from the team (his contract, now in dispute, averages $30 million per year).
The special teams spike doesn’t explain everything.
San Francisco deserves credit for upgrading at backup quarterback with Mac Jones and at defensive coordinator with Robert Saleh. Running back Christian McCaffrey has stayed healthy all season after missing 13 games last season and most of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
But special teams is a major reason why this 49ers team, unlike the 2020 and 2024 versions, has kept winning despite playing without so many injured key players. That’s reflected in the table below, which shows the 49ers’ per-game EPA changes from last season in all three phases.