It goes without saying that the San Francisco 49ers‘ 2024 campaign did not go according to plan. After coming up just short in Super Bowl LVIII, the 49ers were expected to be a title contender in the NFC once again last year. Instead, they struggled from the get-go and ended up missing the playoffs entirely after winning just six games.
Entering the new season, the Niners find themselves in an interesting spot. While they shed an awful lot of talent over the offseason, the majority of their star core players are still in town. There may not be a lot of hype surrounding the team after what went down in 2024, but NFL insider Dan Graziano of ESPN recently predicted that the team will return to the Super Bowl in 2025.
49ers Predicted to Make it Back to the Super Bowl in 2025
Pretty much nothing went right for the 49ers in 2024. They were decimated with injuries from day one, and while they fought valiantly to stay in playoff contention for much of the year, it eventually became too much to overcome. Injuries aren’t fully to blame for their woes, but they certainly were a big part of the issue.
San Francisco has dealt with several injuries again during training camp, but the majority of their top players are healthy heading into Week 1. While Brandon Aiyuk is going to miss the first few weeks of the season and Jauan Jennings is dealing with contract drama, the Niners have enough talent on both sides of the ball that it shouldn’t drastically impact them to start the year.
With the NFC West being wide open, San Fran is in a good spot. Beyond that, they also project to have the easiest schedule in the NFL, which should make their quest to bounce back a little bit easier. Put it all together, and Graziano wouldn’t be surprised to see the 49ers find their way back to the Super Bowl this season.
“I don’t understand why so many people are sleeping on the 49ers, who were in the Super Bowl two seasons ago and saw their 2024 season completely disintegrate because of injuries,” Graziano wrote for ESPN. They lost some guys this offseason, sure, but they still have Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner … I could go on, but you get the idea. A lot of talent.”
“This team has a good chance to bounce all the way back to being one of the best — if not the best — in the NFC, especially against a schedule that includes just four games against teams that made last season’s playoffs.”
Could the 49ers Return to the Super Bowl in 2025?
Getty(Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
The NFC is loaded with Super Bowl contenders, with the Philadelphia Eagles looking poised to repeat, while the Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions, and the Green Bay Packers (in the wake of their blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons) all look dangerous, too. But if the 49ers can find the form they enjoyed in 2023, they could quickly enter the conversation alongside these teams.
It will likely take some time for the 49ers to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but with an easy schedule helping them out, they will have a little bit more of a margin for error than other teams. San Francisco will look to get off on the right foot when they open their 2025 campaign against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1.
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