Why the San Francisco 49ers can contend in the NFC West
It has been quite some time since the San Francisco 49ers have made noise in the NFC west. Ever since Jim Harbaugh’s final season in 2014, the 49ers have been relatively lost. During these lost years the division has been a revolving door for teams who have won the division.
Of all the teams in the NFC west the Los Angeles Rams have looked the most dangerous and show no signs of slowing down coming off their Super Bowl appearance. The Seattle Seahawks will always be a force so long as they have Russell Wilson and a solid defense. Lastly, the Arizona Cardinals are figured to be at least improved with Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray.
With all these teams looking competitive, contending in the NFC west for the San Francisco 49ers is going to be a battle. Every team is going to be head hunting for the Rams division title with the Seahawks as the favorite to challenge them.
However, under the guidance of head coach Kyle Shanahan and the return of Jimmy Garoppolo the 49ers can definitely contend for the NFC west division title.
The offense in 2019 finally has the talent to reach the full potential of Shanahan’s offense. Not to mention the vastly improved defense, specifically the front seven. With all things considered, the 49ers are the real legitimate threat to dethrone the Rams as division champions. Though the Seahawks are coming off a playoff appearance, they lack the ability of adapting.
That stems from their head coach Pete Carroll. Shanahan has set up his team so that they can adapt to any situation. They don’t necessarily have a lot of elite talent, but the system that they have in place allows for everyone to shine.
Seattle relies so much on Russell Wilson’s greatness, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but considering the lack of talent that offense is going to stagnate a lot. As for the San Francisco 49ers offense they are going to light defenses up with their trickery.
That’s why they’re easily the most adaptable because of their versatile players in the backfield and at wide receiver. San Francisco is finally the more complete team and poised to be better than the Seahawks. If they can win the division or even clinch a wild card berth, then that will tell us how good this team really is. The NFC west is the most loaded division in the NFL next to the NFC south.
By making the playoffs in such a difficult division the 49ers will have sent a message. They are the real deal and why shouldn’t they be? So long as Jimmy Garoppolo remains healthy, then they have a shot. The offense is the key to success for the 49ers just like how it was for the Rams, which is a highly complex offense with elite pass rushers.
The 49ers have that same model that can go toe-to-toe with them. Just imagine the chess matches between Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay in 2019. It’s truly going to be a thing of beauty and will also be a litmus test for the 49ers. Are they read to contend this year? Or are they still a year away from making a run?
