This fatal flaw may keep the 49ers from being contenders

It's not what you think.

Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Most NFL analysts believe that the San Francisco 49ers are a good, but not great team. They are considered playoff locks by all, but nobody really sees them as Super Bowl contenders.

The main reason is that the defense is down so many pieces and the offense is not quite good enough. There appears to be one specific thing missing, too.

Big plays.

The San Francisco 49ers offense lacks explosiveness 

When it comes to rushes that go ten yards or more and catches that go 20 yards or more, the 49ers rank 25th. This is not where you want to be. The bottom seven teams are Cincinnati, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Tennessee, Cleveland, and New Orleans.

Four of those teams have been shuffling quarterbacks, the Titans have a rookie, while Pittsburgh and Las Vegas regret their quarterback decisions. These are not contenders. 

Most big plays thru Week 13: pic.twitter.com/niQ38CwnoH

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 2, 2025

Carolina ranks 24th, the Jaguars are 22nd, Houston is 20th and Philadelphia is 19th. These are other playoff contenders that many do not see as legitimate threats. 

Meanwhile, Chicago Buffalo, Kansas City, and the Los Angeles Rams crack the top four in explosive plays. These teams are considered contenders. Seattle is sixth, Baltimore seventh, Indianapolis eighth, Green Bay 10th and New England 11th. You could argue that all of the real contenders are in that top eleven. 

So, what can the 49ers do? First, Brock Purdy has to play better. He has been big play hunting, but that has led to his interceptions. Another week for Purdy and main deep threat Ricky Pearsall could get some explosion going to end the season. 

However, the big issue is the running game. Christian McCaffrey can move the chains when he needs to, but it is not pretty down-to-down and there is very little explosiveness to his game right now. It is hard to think of what they can do to bring this out of him, especially with no changes on the offensive line coming. 

Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

San Francisco is not playing an explosive game on offense, and with their defense, it forces them to be nearly perfect. When their offense turns it over at the rate they are, and they do not have exposive plays, no one will take them seriously, despite the wins.

They have beat teams when their quarterbacks make big mistakes and they win the turnover game, but this may not work against the better quarterbacks who are also explosive. Until this changes, the 49ers will stay in the same light for fans and analysts.