One ESPN analyst does not have high hopes for the 49ers making the playoffs this season.
In his mid-season predictions, NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller explained why San Francisco will miss the postseason.
"A season decimated by injuries will end with the reigning NFC champions missing the postseason and keeping the Super Bowl hangover trend alive for the losing team," Miller wrote (h/t ESPN.com). "Sitting at 4-4 after a bye week, the 49ers are without Brandon Aiyuk for the season and still have Christian McCaffrey on the sideline (though he could return this week). Their defense suddenly can't make key stops, either. This looks like a lost year in the Bay."
San Francisco has had an uneven start to the season, with sloppy play and blown fourth-quarter leads leaving the team looking for answers coming out of its bye week. Despite this, the 49ers are one game back of first place in the NFC West.
However, NFL history has not been kind to Super Bowl losers the following season. Only eight teams have made it back to the big game following a loss the previous season. Given the state of the NFC Wild Card race, it’s unlikely that any team in the NFC West beyond the division winner will make the playoffs.
This leaves the 49ers with little margin for error with plenty of daunting challenges still to come. Three of its next four games are on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills, a brutal stretch that will determine a lot.
With McCaffrey poised to make his season debut soon coupled with Kyle Shanahan’s impressive second-half record, don’t stick a fork in San Francisco just yet.
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