Slow starts and fast finishes have defined the last two seasons for the 49ers. They struggled out of the gate more in 2021 than they did in 2022, but part of the reason they continue finding their way into deep playoff runs is their ability to play their best football down the stretch. There’s something to be said for not bumbling into the postseason.
Even last year the 49ers clinched the NFC West in Week 15, but continued stacking wins to finish the regular season.
This year they may not be able to afford an early-season stumble considering the gauntlet that is the back end of their schedule. In the 11 games between Weeks 5 and 16 they face nine teams that made the playoffs last year. Finishing strong will be paramount as always, but they have to get some wins early in the year. That means head coach Kyle Shanahan will have to reverse a trend from his coaching career and start winning more often early.
Here’s a look at how he’s fared in each month of the season during his time as the team’s head coach:
September
Record: 9-10
Winning percentage: .473
Shanahan began his tenure 1-6 in September. The team is 8-4 in the season’s opening month since. Last year they went 1-2 with losses in Chicago and Denver – both teams finished in the bottom five in the NFL.
October
Record: 11-16
Winning percentage: .407
Shanahan didn’t win a game in October until his third season at the helm in San Francisco. He started 0-9, which means the team has gone 11-7 since then. However, in 2021 and 2022 they were a combined 4-5 with all four wins coming against teams that finished below .500 for the season.
November
Record: 11-9
Winning percentage: .550
It’s not a huge surprise to see a winning record in the league’s third month. This is about the time the team starts playing well, as evidenced by their six consecutive victories in November since 2021.
December
Record: 17-10
Winning percentage: .630
Speaking of playing well late in the year, the 49ers are winners of four straight in December and they’re 6-2 overall since 2021. One of those two losses came on a Thursday night at Tennessee. Winning in December has been a habit for Shanahan since he took over. Even the bad teams in 2017 and 2018 went a combined 7-3 in the month.
January
Regular season record: 4-1
Winning percentage: .800
Shanahan has guided the 49ers to four consecutive regular-season January wins. Their lone loss was a three-point “home” loss in January of 2021 when they hosted the Seahawks at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Postseason record: 6-2
Winning percentage: .750
Those pesky NFC championship games. It’s pretty impressive Shanahan’s 49ers have never lost a playoff game before the NFC championship or Super Bowl though.
February
Postseason record: 0-1
Winning percentage: .000
Welp.
