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Four games into the season, the San Francisco 49ers have given little reason to doubt their Super Bowl potential. Despite their usual slew of injuries, they remain undefeated, led by the NFL's highest-rated quarterback and a supporting cast that includes future Hall of Famers at left tackle, running back, tight end, wide receiver, and linebacker. They also have an elite offensive play-caller, a standout defensive coordinator, ample cap space, and enough draft picks to make a significant trade before the deadline. At the very least, a trip to the NFC Championship Game seems like a foregone conclusion.
However, the question remains: can the 49ers actually win their first Super Bowl since 1995? Before the season, general manager John Lynch emphasized the need for a dominant defensive line. Most Super Bowl champions feature excellent pass rushes, if not elite defenses overall. Through four games, San Francisco's defense has been solid, but its pass rush has been virtually nonexistent. The team has recorded just six sacks, the seventh-fewest in the league, and their marquee offseason addition, Osa Odighizuwa, has yet to register a single sack. Lynch's stated goal remains unfulfilled.
The absence of a pass rush has had a ripple effect: the 49ers have intercepted only one pass all season. Without pressure, opposing quarterbacks have been comfortable in the pocket, rarely forced into hurried throws or mistakes. This raises concerns about how the defense will fare against mobile, elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes. Help may be on the way when Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams return, and Lynch could still swing a trade for a premier pass rusher like Khalil Mack. If those pieces fall into place, the 49ers would have no glaring weaknesses.
Key Analysis
But Lynch has yet to make a move, and Williams, who missed the entire offseason and is not in football shape, may take months to regain peak form even if his surgically repaired knee is healthy. As for Bosa, head coach Kyle Shanahan ruled him out for Sunday's game against the Seahawks during a Monday conference call, without even waiting for the first practice of the week to assess his injured calf. There is skepticism that Bosa will return to form this season. He is recovering from a second ACL tear in the same knee, and the second surgery typically requires 12 to 18 months for full recovery. So far, Bosa has not shown he can practice fully or play more than two consecutive games without reinjury. Until proven otherwise, the 49ers should assume he won't make a full recovery this year.
That is why the 49ers desperately need to trade for an edge rusher before the deadline. Williams is an interior rusher, not an edge rusher, and Bosa may not be fully healthy for a long time. How serious the 49ers are about winning a Super Bowl this year will be revealed by their actions at the trade deadline.
Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent his first nine years with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered figures like Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick, and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. He also created a YouTube channel that has become a go-to source for 49ers content, generating roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, compared to the team's official channel's 1.5 million. Cohn live streams almost daily and posts videos hourly during the season, committed to asking the questions fans want answered and providing honest, interactive coverage. His loyalty is to the reader and viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, influenced by his father, Lowell Cohn, the legendary San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist from 1979 to 1993. The two host a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland, studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010, and currently lives in Oakland with his wife. Follow grantcohn.