How 49ers got back to NFC championship game: Turning point, key moves, full season results

The San Francisco 49ers are heading to the NFC Championship for the fourth time in five seasons, clearly showing they are the best team in the NFC under Kyle Shanahan. Despite all the deep playoff runs, the 49ers have yet to win the Super Bowl under Shanahan.

Perhaps this is the year for San Francisco. The 49ers are 18-1 when Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel all play the entire game (2-4 in all other games since Purdy’s first career start — including playoffs). Samuel is reportedly questionable to play in this game, but the 49ers are 5-0 in the playoffs at home under Shanahan. 

San Francisco is facing a Detroit Lions team that reached the conference championship game for the first time in 32 years, so this is arguably the best opportunity for the 49ers to go back to the Super Bowl. 

Reaching the conference championship is no easy task. Here’s how the 49ers got to this point. 

Notable acquisitions 

Javon Hargrave: The 49ers gave Hargrave a massive contract in free agency, poaching him away from the Eagles with a four-year, $84 million deal. Hargrave didn’t have the same number of sacks (7.0), pressures (52), and pressure rate (12.3%) as he did in 2022 with the Eagles, but the 49ers improved in sack rate (7.2%) and pressure rate (39.6%) compared to 2022 (6.9% sack rate and 34.4% pressure rate). 

The pass rush on the interior has significantly improved as well. San Francisco has a much deeper team as a result of Hargrave on the roster. 

Chase Young: The 49ers decided to bolster their already strong pass rush by acquiring Young at the trade deadline in October. Even though Young had just 2.5 sacks since joining the 49ers, his 28 pressures certainly made an impact. The 49ers had a 39.6% pressure rate and 7.2% sack rate on the year, but that sack rate was 8.8% when Young was in the lineup. 

Nick Bosa had 7.5 sacks after Young arrived (3.0 before the trade)…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/how-49ers-got-back-to-nfc-championship-game-turning-point-key-moves-full-season-results/

Author : Jeff Kerr

Publish date : 2024-01-24 16:02:18

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