The Best-Case Scenario for the 49ers in 2024
![Jan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates after winning the NFC Championship football game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports Jan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates after winning the NFC Championship football game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4883,h_2746,x_0,y_489/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_49ers/01j313rqke12c5z3c5n5.jpg)
All 32 of Sports Illustrated's NFL team publishers recently laid out the best-case scenarios for the team they cover this season. Here's the best-case scenario for the 49ers according to yours truly.
"The oldest roster in the NFL stays relatively healthy for the second consecutive season and makes it back to the Super Bowl. But this time when the 49ers have a lead in the second half, Kyle Shanahan actually knows what to do with it. He sticks with his running game, runs down the clock and ends the pattern of him coming from ahead to lose Super Bowls."
There's not much more to add. Last year felt like a best-case-scenario season for the 49ers until they lost the Super Bowl in overtime. They clearly were the best team in the NFL on paper. The NFC was weak. Their division was terrible. And they stayed uncharacteristically healthy. And they still didn't win a Lombardi Trophy.
This year, they have to hope that their aging roster can stay healthy for one more year. And if it does, then they have to hope that their head coach finally knows what to do with a second-half lead in the Super Bowl if they make it that far. Because he's the only head coach in NFL history to blow two 10-point leads Super Bowl history.
Barring injury, the 49ers have the roster to win the Super Bowl. They just need a coach who can close. Is Shanahan that coach? We'll find out soon enough.