The San Francisco 49ers have reached their long-awaited bye week, the last one of the season in Week 14, and it comes at the right time to recover players and get one final break before the closing stretch of four regular season games.
With a 9-4 record, the team has overcome several obstacles not only to stay in the race but to hold strong chances of making the playoffs and even competing for the number one seed in the NFC. Let’s look at how the team got here and recap the season so far.
How Are The 49ers Still Alive in 2025 Season?
From the start, the 49ers entered the season facing plenty of uncertainty due to the departures of several players in the offseason, including Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, Deebo Samuel, Charvarius Ward and others. There was also a question about how the team would respond after a season that marked the end of a franchise cycle following the Super Bowl loss.
The 3-0 start came despite multiple injuries occurring in the opening weeks. Brock Purdy was injured in Week 1, as was George Kittle, and in Week 3 the team lost Nick Bosa for the season. Even so, those wins created the cushion the team needed for the unstable stretch that followed.
Between Weeks 4 and 10, the 49ers alternated wins and losses each week, a period led by Mac Jones as the starting quarterback. He did a strong job keeping the team competitive. The stretch included tough matchups such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams, three losses, along with additional injuries.
Fred Warner suffered an ankle dislocation against the Buccaneers, and Mykel Williams tore his ACL against the New York Giants, two injuries that left the defense extremely thin. Even so, Robert Saleh managed to keep the unit functional, and over the last two weeks the defense has allowed 8.5 points per game.
This leads to the main point behind the 9-4 record entering the bye week, coaching. Kyle Shanahan managed to deliver a top-10 offense in 2025 despite all the issues and absences, ranking 10th in PFSN OFFi, with Christian McCaffrey once again playing a leading role as he did in 2023.
Meanwhile, Saleh produced a unit that ranks as the eighth best scoring defense in 2025, allowing 20.7 points per game, even though it is only the 25th best defense in PFSN DEFi. Few coordinators could hold together such a depleted group and keep the team competitive the way Saleh has.
The final four weeks will determine how the 49ers will enter the playoffs, with the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks ahead. But given everything that has happened this season, the outcome is already a positive one regardless of whether a title comes or not.