The San Francisco 49ers are only 5-6. With several critical losses, they seem to be on the wrong end of the wild-card equation as they look toward a potential late-season playoff push. However, even in the middle of a disappointing season, there are plenty of things 49ers fans can be thankful for. Here’s a list of five:
1. Kyle Shanahan
The 49ers have sure had their fair share of struggles over the years, and head coaching carousel’s were constantly at the center of it. While Jed York has made plenty of mistakes during his time at the helm of the franchise, he deserves a decent amount of credit for learning from some of his biggest mistakes. It’s clear that York’s decision to side with Trent Baalke and fire Jim Harbaugh set the franchise back for several seasons, and it left Yok.
Shanahan has some glaring weaknesses, and perhaps they will prove to be too significant to ever lead the Niners to a Super Bowl title. However, for a franchise that has seen the disastrous tenures of head coaches like Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary, Jim Tomsula, and Chip Kelly, a clearly competent coach who consistently keeps his players motivated and builds a competitive team is something worth being thankful for.
2. Fred Warner
There are plenty of players the Niners fanbase should be thankful for, but few have been a consistent impact player for longer than Fred Warner. A Day 1 starter who made it easy for San Francisco to deal with an ill-fated free agent investment in Malcolm Smith, Warner has easily been the 49ers best top three-round draft pick since Kyle Shanahan arrived.
Warner is on pace for his seventh consecutive season with at least 118 tackles. He will likely be selected a first-team All-Pro for the fourth time in his career, tying him with Navorro Bowman on the franchise’s all-time linebacker rankings and leaving him just one first-team selection away from tying Patrick Willis.
Oh yeah, and he’s apparently been playing through a fractured ankle this season.
3. The last three rounds of the draft
Despite the success of Shanahan’s tenure, it’s no secret that the top of the draft has had plenty of big misses. Luckily, or perhaps to the credit of the team’s scouting staff, they have been able to compensate for some of those mistakes with an incredible track record of late-round selections. George Kittle, Brock Purdy, Deommodore Lenoir, Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and Jauan Jennings were all taken in the final three rounds of the draft. When you include undrafted free agents like Jordan Mason, and players who have since gone elsewhere (D.J. Jones, D.J. Reed, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Kendrick Bourne), it’s quite an impressive collection.
4. The Cowboys being the Cowboys
It’s fun for 49ers fans to watch their favorite team thrive, but for many fans, it’s even more enjoyable to watch the Dallas Cowboys (and their fanbase) flail in misery. As bad as things have gone for the 49ers this season, it’s gone worse in Dallas. The Cowboys are 4-7, five games back of the Eagles in the NFC East, just as buried in the race for the wild card, and have an aging core without a clear long-term plan. With the Eagles and emerging Commanders in their division, it is looking more and more likely that Jerry Jones will never get to see another Cowboys championship in his lifetime.
5. The 49ers 5 Championships
With every passing year, a smaller portion of the Niners’ fanbase has ever seen the team hoist the Lombardi Trophy. However, for plenty of folks, they can still look back in their memory to Joe Montana or Steve Young leading San Francisco to a victory in the big game. It sure may look like the 49ers are at risk of becoming the 90s Bills of the modern era, but at least the franchise has some championship history to hold onto. In a league where more than a third of franchises (12 to be exact), have never won the Super Bowl, it’s worth taking a moment to enjoy rooting for a team that has some history that is always fun to watch on NFL Films.
