The San Francisco 49ers possess just the sort of star-studded roster that's required to win a Super Bowl. Having an offensive genius in the form of head coach Kyle Shanahan prowling the sidelines only adds to the idea that San Francisco can hoist the Lombardi Trophy when all is said and done this season.
Unfortunately for fans in the Bay Area, this year's team possesses too many potential fatal flaws to win a title. The 49ers have everything required to make a deep postseason run, but it's not going to be a historical campaign. The following three problem areas are going to cost San Francisco when the stakes are at their highest.
3. Nick Bosa doesn't have quite enough help
When healthy, Nick Bosa is one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. The 49ers have typically surrounded him with tons of help to maximize his ability to terrorize opposing quarterbacks. This year they've chosen to put a little more on Bosa's plate as an individual edge rusher.
Clelin Ferrell is currently starting opposite him at defensive end and he just isn't dynamic enough to worry opposing offensive lineman. He's a steady run defender but he's yet to even record a sack through six games. There's a cogent argument to be made that he should be benched in favor of Drake Jackson who's already notched three sacks through six games.
The 49ers still have a really good front seven overall, but they're not going to rush the passer well enough with their front four to win big-time playoff games against high-powered aerial attacks. The front office made a calculated risk to trust Bosa to shoulder that load by himself and it's going to cost them in the playoffs.
2. Christian McCaffrey might not stay healthy
The Carolina Panthers didn't deal Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers solely because they were ready to engage in a roster rebuild. A big part of Carolina's motivation was their realization that they could not trust the versatile running back to stay healthy throughout a full season.
The 49ers front office decided they'd roll the dice and trust McCaffrey to be a key cog in a championship offense. That will require him to be fresh once the postseason begins. The fact that he's already dealing with an oblique injury should be setting off alarm bells in San Francisco.
Look for the 49ers to try to rest McCaffrey whenever they can. He shouldn't play a regular season game where he's feeling anything less than 100%. The problem with that philosophy is that the team really doesn't have a quality option behind McCaffrey on the depth chart to rely on.
That's going to cause Shanahan and his offensive staff to overuse McCaffrey before the postseason arrives. Every touch he absorbs during a meaningless regular season contest is a chance the 49ers really shouldn't be taking. At his best, he's just the sort of player who can turn a loss into a win all on his own.
Unfortunately for McCaffrey and the 49ers, availability is a skill in the modern NFL. It's a skill McCaffrey lacks and it's going to cost San Francisco the chance to win a title.
1. Brock Purdy isn't ready for the brightest lights
Brock Purdy is an amazing story. The idea that the 262nd pick of the 2022 NFL Draft can pilot an elite offensive so soon is nothing short of remarkable. The problem for the 49ers is that Purdy isn't ready to win a high-leverage game on his own consistently.
Purdy can pull magic out of his hat sometimes, but he doesn't have that rare ability to seize a game by the scruff of its neck on a weekly basis. That's the sort of difference-maker most teams need at quarterback to maneuver through the minefields of a full postseason.
His inability to pull the 49ers' offensive out of the mud in their Week 6 loss to the Browns is a good example of why the young signal-caller isn't ready to win a Super Bowl. Cleveland's defense put him under constant pressure and limited him to just 125 yards passing on the day. Some injuries to his biggest weapons did limit what he was able to do against the Browns but that just highlights the reality that Purdy can't win games on his own.
Shanahan's schemes put Purdy in great position to look like an All-Pro quarterback on a weekly basis. Those schemes have a tendency to get mucked up in the playoffs. Purdy's inability to consistently make plays when he's required to go off-script is the biggest reason why the 49ers will come up short this year in their quest to win another Super Bowl title.
