How optimistic should we really be about the 2026 49ers?

The San Francisco 49ers’ season came to an end in the NFC Divisional Round with a 41-6 loss against their division rival, the Seattle Seahawks. Normally, in these situations, you’d find me screaming at the TV about how much opportunity was squandered, the 49ers are underachieving, blah, blah, blah.

Instead, I was happy. Very optimistic. I didn’t see the 49ers winning that game. I didn’t see them losing like that, but I didn’t see them winning it either. Regardless, I’ll join the crowd saying the 2025 team was a masterclass from Kyle Shanahan.

The top two players on defense, edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner, were out for the season. Defensive end Mykel Williams followed with a knee injury. Others, like linebacker Dee Winters, were in and out of games due to injuries.

Offensively, it wasn’t much better. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was in and out of the lineup, as was quarterback Brock Purdy. Tight end George Kittle’s season ended in the NFC Wild Card with an Achilles tear. Offensive tackle Trent Williams missed time.

So how did the 49ers go 12-5 and win a playoff game?

The 49ers not only made it to the playoffs, but also bounced the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round. If they only got there because their “schedule was easy,” that game wouldn’t have ended in San Francisco’s favor.

Reality came in the form of the NFC Divisional Round. The 49ers were running on fumes, the short week may or may not have had a hand in it, the Seahawks are simply a much, much better football team.

The last time the 49ers lost to the Seahawks in the playoffs was the 2013-2014 NFC Championship. For me, there’s no comparison: that loss was far, FAR more disappointing, angering, and/or rage-inducing than this. The 49ers team from that year was supposed to be on the rise. They had quarterback Colin Kaepernick, someone we thought had a higher ceiling than Seattle’s signal caller, Russell Wilson. Along with Kaepernick were running back Frank Gore, linebacker Patrick Willis, pass rusher Aldon Smith, and the list goes on.

The 2025 team is held together by duct tape at this point.

What I’m getting at is that I wasn’t expecting much given the 49ers’ state through the 2025 season. What I got was a good foundation for a younger team.

The 49ers started to get a hold of their salary cap in the offseason. Deebo Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders. Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw signed with other teams. The 49ers fielded a young team coming off a 6-11 season.

This team went 12-5 with a chance for the No. 1 Seed in the final week of the regular season. They won a playoff game and gave those young players not just a taste of playoff football but a playoff victory. Brandon Aiyuk and his guaranteed money will be coming back to the team in a year or two, allowing them to be spenders in free agency. Most of the guys, well, the ones left standing, have played a lot of football to take to the next year of their careers.

This was the ceiling after what they went through? Not another 6-11 season?

And no, this isn’t a “Wait until next year” every time a season ends, like a broken record. When the 49ers turned in a 6-11 season, something a bit more concerning. Sure, there was promising rookie play, but the defense and special teams were abysmal. Brock Purdy was efficient, but something seemed off. The 49ers were showing promise again, but the injury bug hit.

Now comes 2026, possibly with some money to spend. But if Kyle Shanahan can do that with the hand he was dealt in 2025, the equivalent of a 7-2 offsuit in poker, what happens if he gets a decent hand like pocket Jacks?

I’m not saying they are going to be world beaters and go undefeated next year magically. Maybe they still lose to Seattle in a playoff game. All I’m saying is things are definitely going in the right direction after the frustratingly disappointing 2024 season.

There are questions, like do they draft more defense, or does Kyle Shanahan realize he needs more offensive line pieces to get the running game going again? What happens if defensive coordinator Robert Saleh or offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak leaves to get a head coaching job? A lot of variables.

But if this is what we get with what the team had to deal with this year? I’m very optimistic about what will happen when they get a few more holes plugged in 2026.

If you watched the 49ers on Saturday and said they blew another opportunity, another season, we clearly weren’t watching the same team. I’m not sure what a team as injured as the 49ers should do, but calling it a season earlier wouldn’t have brought any shame. Instead, they grinded out wins.

After Saturday and the events leading up to it, I’m very optimistic that the 49ers are going to be back to the mountaintop sooner rather than later again. The rookies and second-year players got much-needed playoff experience. Brock Purdy has displayed that if his pass catchers, you know, catch the ball and/or don’t fumble it, he can be one of the better NFL quarterbacks. All I’m saying is if this season was a rebuild, it certainly didn’t feel like it, and it’s ahead of schedule.

Usually, after a devastating 49ers loss, I wake up the next day and ask, “Did that just happen?” So many times (the 2014 NFC Championship is a good example), I wake up wondering if what happened was true. Did The Great Disappointment strike again? What more do the 49ers need to do? I didn’t feel that after Saturday’s loss, I went to bed with a smile, knowing they weren’t there yet but that they were getting there.

Again, if this is what we get from a 49ers team that went into the season with the intention of getting “younger” and battling injuries all year, what are we getting when everyone is healthy?

Guess we can wait and see.