It wasn't pretty at all, but the San Francisco 49ers' 17-13 Week 1 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks has to be about the biggest relief possible after a tumultuous offseason and then a nail-biting four quarters of meaningful action.
Had the Niners lost a crucial NFC West showdown right out of the gate (and they were awfully close to doing so), it would have led to a weeklong discussion of difficult "what ifs."
On the positive, quarterback Brock Purdy's exemplary fourth-quarter comeback without tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Jauan Jennings rebuked plenty of doubts about the signal-caller's abilities without elite talent helping him. And not enough can be said of just how important the return of Robert Saleh is to San Francisco's overhauled defense.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of difficult realities facing head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers that were fully exposed during the game.
Particularly these five.
No. 5: Jake Moody will cost 49ers some games, unless...
At this point, it makes no sense why Shanahan and Co. continue to give kicker Jake Moody chances after his epic 2024 second-half meltdown, inconsistencies during the preseason and then a 27-yard doink off the upright on a supposed chip shot for his first field-goal try of 2025.
Jake Moody … just don’t understand … kickers aren’t hard to find and plenty of pretty good ones out there.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) September 7, 2025
It's year three for Moody. And while he might have been given a pass last year for his struggles, particularly having suffered a high-ankle sprain, about the only way the Niners' continued faith in him makes sense is because he's a 2023 third-round draftee, nothing else.
Moody almost cost San Francisco Week 1, and he'll inevitably cost Shanahan games this season, too, unless the head coach finally admits the gaffe and cuts bait.
No. 4: Trent Williams' age is starting to show
At 37 years old, it's understandable why future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams isn't the prolific player he was not too long ago. Yet, when healthy, he's still expected to perform at a high level.
Week 1 wasn't his best, and it might be an indicator of things to come.
Not only did Fox Sports' color analyst Greg Olsen point out Williams' struggles during the game, which included a tough holding call, but Pro Football Focus' assessment of the perennial Pro Bowler wasn't much of an endorsement either, crediting Williams with a team-most six pressures allowed.
While some improvement is certainly expected, the bigger likelihood is Williams is trending toward being more of an above-average blocker at this stage of his career.
No. 3: 49ers rookies have a steep learning curve
It's a painful truth, but it's also a (hopeful) net positive.
The 49ers are going to rely heavily on their crop of draftees from 2025, and this bunch had a mixed bag of reviews from Week 1.
Third-round linebacker Nick Martin was inactive, which isn't a good look for him whatsoever, while Round 1 defensive end Mykel Williams was, more or less, a nonfactor. Fellow defensive linemen Alfred Collins and C.J. West helped shut down the Hawks' interior rush attempts, but the lack of splash plays stood out.
But the best up-and-down examples might be viewed from the secondary where Seattle picked on cornerback Upton Stout early in the game, and the third-round draftee showed inexperience by committing pass interference on a fourth-down try in the red zone that gave the Seahawks a fresh set of downs, resulting in a touchdown. Stout, however, responded with a key pass breakup later in the game and wasn't much of a liability thereafter, while safety Marques Sigle justified the Niners' decision to start him by recovering a crucial fumble late in the game.
There'll be gaffes and whiffs by rookies all year long, but playing through those mistakes and inconsistencies will ultimately refine the first-year pros quickly.
No. 2: 49ers still have glaring special teams issues
Moody is a big part of San Francisco's special teams woes, but he's not alone.
The offseason efforts to overhaul this dilapidated third phase, which included onboarding coordinator Brant Boyer, showed no signs of making a positive difference in Week 1. Wide receiver Skyy Moore muffed a punt, which was an ominous sign despite the fact he recovered it before going out of bounds.
Combine that with poor punt coverage and a block on the other of Moody's misses, which isn't on his shoulders, and one can see there has been precisely zero by the way of improvement on special teams.
Boyer and Co. have their work cut out for them.
No. 1 49ers just can't escape the injury bug
Just prior to the regular season, it appeared the 49ers were getting healthy at precisely the right time after being hit hard with injuries during camp and in the preseason.
Well, scratch that.
The Niners dealt with a slew of injuries in Week 1, including Williams, right guard Dominick Puni and linebacker Fred Warner having to exit the game for brief periods of time.
Yet the biggest setbacks came to two of San Francisco's most important players: tight end George Kittle (hamstring) and wide receiver Jauan Jennings (shoulder), who both exited the contest after suffering their setbacks and didn't return. Then, on Monday, Shanahan revealed Purdy, too, was dealing with both shoulder and toe injuries that put his status for Week 2 in question.
Brutal.