It felt like the San Francisco 49ers hit rock bottom multiple times this season, but no thud made a louder sound than Week 16 when they were eliminated from the playoffs and lost a winnable game vs. the Miami Dolphins.
The loss pushed the 49ers all the way down to No. 22 in the USA TODAY NFL power rankings, and it’s unlikely we’ll see them climb the rest of the season.
Fortunately for San Francisco, we’re not typically defined by our mistakes. We’re defined by how we respond to them… or something like that.
Judging the 2024 49ers is difficult because of their injuries and overall talent. On paper they look like a contender. In reality they’re beat up and in general playing too poorly to justify any ranking much higher than where they’re at. They have turnover issues, penalty problems and execution difficulties on both sides of the ball.
A team doesn’t just get to be deemed “good” because their accumulation of talent is strong. They need to show it between the lines and this season the 49ers haven’t done that. It led them here where the Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons and all three NFC West teams sit ahead of them.
And as the 49ers fall, teams like the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers are rising and hot on their tail.
How far the 49ers drop in these final two weeks remains to be seen, but it also doesn’t really matter compared to what lies ahead next season. 2024 was an abysmal year in every facet. There’s a path to a bounce back season in 2025 though, and finding that path will be much more important than how hard they hit rock bottom in 2024.
