It's Time to Take the 49ers Seriously As Super Bowl Contenders

Brock Purdy was a vastly different quarterback on Monday night against the Colts compared to his prior Monday Night Football appearance when he threw three interceptions against the Panthers. Purdy and his offense moved up and down the field with ease in Indianapolis, a career performance that might actually give the 49ers some legitimacy as Super Bowl contenders.

Heck, maybe even Kyle Shanahan will finally get some consideration for Coach of the Year. Then again, that award tends to go to the new coach who helped turn a loser into a winner in their first season. There’s nothing new about these star-studded 49ers winning a bunch of games under Shanahan, but let’s summarize what this team has done after defeating the Colts, 48–27, to improve 11–4 on the season.

And this is not about boosting Shanahan’s Coach of the Year campaign because we already know the unwritten criteria for that annual award. (Don’t get your hopes up, Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton and Sean McVay.) This is more about giving the 49ers some respect for overcoming all the challenges that have occurred in the past year, from a rare down year in 2024 to a player exodus in March during free agency.

Even though San Francisco hasn’t stopped winning games, this team has been overlooked since Fred Warner joined Nick Bosa on the season-ending injured reserve list two months ago. With the 49ers two wins away from clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC, this seems like a good time to start paying attention to the familiar contender that was supposed to take the year off long before the injuries piled up.

As a reminder, San Francisco (11–4) already has wins over Los Angeles (11–4) and Seattle (12–3), two NFC West teams that have plenty of respect. However, the division and the top seed will belong to the 49ers if they beat the Bears and Seahawks in the final two games of the regular season.

With all the obstacles, it’s a bit surprising that the 49ers control their own destiny in football’s toughest division, but it really shouldn’t be after watching Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle carve up the Colts’ defense. (But San Francisco will need to monitor the injury Kittle sustained in the third quarter on Monday night.) The lack of respect is shocking, yet understandable because Warner and Bosa aren’t coming back for the postseason.

However, it doesn’t make sense to write off the battled-tested 49ers for having a short-handed defense, which can afford to give up a few touchdowns with this loaded offense. The 49ers pounded the Colts’ stout run defense for 145 yards, a unit that entered Monday night allowing only 95.1 yards per game. Purdy (25-of-34, 295 yards, 5 TDs, INT) threw his fifth touchdown of the game after hitting McCaffrey (21 carries, 117 yards, two receiving TDs) for a nine-yard completion and a 14-point advantage with 7:37 left in regulation. San Francisco’s short-handed defense put the finishing touches on the win after Dee Winter turned a Philip Rivers interception into a 74-yard touchdown return in the final four minutes.

San Francisco’s NFC West rivals delivered possibly the game of the year on Thursday night, but the Rams and Seahawks showed plenty of flaws in the high-scoring affair. McVay just fired his special teams coordinator and Sam Darnold had another rocky performance for Seattle before leading the late comeback.

The ball rarely hit the ground for Purdy against the Colts, which was what the 44-year-old Rivers was supposed to do for Indianapolis when reports emerged of him having amazing practices in the week leading up to his first game in five years. The 49ers aren’t a short-lived feel-good story. They’re a real deal contender capable of making a deep playoff run, just like in 2023, when they took the Chiefs to overtime in the Super Bowl.

Four Mondays ago, Purdy had three first-half interceptions against the Panthers. He started this Monday night game 12-of-15 for 151 yards and three touchdowns. I wonder what coaches from the NFC playoff picture thought about Purdy’s career performance against Indianapolis. I have a hard time believing they’re going to overlook a team that has won multiple playoff games with Purdy under center.

Some NFC contenders might even fear this talented, experienced team. That’s a lot better than getting respect before the playoffs arrive next month.