Recently, former NFL linebacker Manti Te’o predicted on NFL Network that the San Francisco 49ers will not defend their NFC West title for a third consecutive year. In that prediction, Te’o explained that he saw an “emotionally drained team” in San Francisco’s last two preseason games, in which their core players played. Te’o also made a few other eye-catching points.
The 49ers have won the NFC Championship in four of the last six seasons and reached the Super Bowl in two of the last five seasons, losing to the same team (Kansas City Chiefs) both times. That alone adds a significant number of extra games for a team, which can lead to even more physical toll. This is evident in the 49ers’ numerous injury concerns, discussed below. However, Te’o also pointed out how emotionally draining these long playoff runs can be on an individual.
Te’o compared this to his time with the New Orleans Saints. He mentioned how emotionally draining the last-second playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings was in the infamous 2017 “Minneapolis Miracle” game. The next year, while battling all of that emotional turmoil, the Saints suffered another heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 when it came down to the “No-Call PI” that gave the Rams the win. According to Te’o, all of that emotional turmoil had an impact on the New Orleans team.
The 12-year-olds know that emotional turmoil too. They won two Super Bowls in a row from 2013-14 and lost the last one in a truly heartbreaking fashion. It’s taken a toll not only on the 12-year-olds, but on the players as well. Additionally, many of the younger players ask for contract extensions when they have a lot of success on the football field. Given the NFL cap, that can lead to difficult conversations and dropouts. Seattle experienced this in 2014 when Marshawn Lynch sat out part of training camp. The Seahawks experienced this in 2015, too, when Kam Chancellor sat out and missed two games (both Seattle Ls) that season.
The 49ers themselves have struggled with the same issues this offseason. Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams have missed the entire 49ers training camp. Both recently signed big contract extensions to get back on the field for San Francisco, but those absences still create distractions. Instead of answering questions about the players who are in training camp, coaches and players have often had to discuss the status of Aiyuk and Williams. Aiyuk himself stated that he has made things “difficult” for the 49ers this offseason.
But the distractions didn’t end there. The 49ers have struggled with a variety of injuries throughout training camp. Drake Jackson, who was expected to play a lot of snaps this season, was placed on the reserve/PUP list in early August and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season. Dre Greenlaw is still out after his Achilles injury in the Super Bowl and was placed on the PUP list last week to start the season. In addition to those two injuries, San Francisco’s key backup running back, Elijah Mitchell, was also placed on the injured list, ending his 2024 season. This is concerning because of the condition of Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey has missed most of training camp with a calf/Achilles injury. McCaffrey is expected to be back for Monday night’s game against the New York Jets. However, his absence over the past few weeks, his injury history, and the 49ers’ lack of depth at the position may be concerning for the future.
Other key players such as Jauan Jennings, Talanoa Hufanga, Yetur Gross-Matos and Ricky Pearsall are also still recovering from injuries. Pearsall is expected to return sooner or later after suffering a gunshot wound during a horrific armed robbery that could have been much worse. The Pearsall situation is just another of the emotionally exhausting offseasons the 49ers have endured.
All of these physical, emotional and financial issues that San Francisco has faced this offseason have people like Manti Te’o wondering if it will affect them this season, but could these concerns have such a big impact that the 49ers could actually give up the NFC West crown?
After two emotionally exhausting seasons (2017-2018) for the Saints, they won the NFC South but were eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings. Meanwhile, after two emotionally exhausting seasons (2013-2014), the Seahawks lost the NFC West to the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle made the playoffs but lost in the divisional round to the Carolina Panthers. Both the Saints and the Seahawks had disappointing seasons. And that was after two emotionally exhausting seasons.
The 49ers are clearly in Super Bowl or bust mode. But with not two, but four seasons of long playoff runs and two Super Bowl losses, this could lead to even greater emotional turmoil than even the Saints or Seahawks have endured. Add to that the recent emergence of the other three NFC West teams, and San Francisco could well be in trouble within its own division. Will these two cases of the Saints and Seahawks be telling for the 49ers? Time will tell. But the 49ers certainly have a lot more to overcome this offseason.
