The San Francisco 49ers are looking to put their disappointing 2024 season behind them and they are off to a good start with a 2-0 record, thanks to a strong showing from Mac Jones. They have also already matched a dismal mark from 2024 in one-score games.
Last season, the Niners had a record of 2-6 in one-score games. It seemed like almost every time a game was close, the 49ers could not close it out or they would let a comfortable lead slip and end up losing in heartbreaking fashion.
It was brutal to see San Francisco lose like that even though head coach Kyle Shanahan has had a knack for blowing leads over the course of his career, especially with the Niners.
This season, the 49ers seem to be shedding that skin from 2024 at least through two games. Both Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks and Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints had a similar feel to several games from last season. The 49ers played a little sloppy and yet found themselves right in the thick of things late.
Last season, it seemed like everything would go wrong in those situations. The defense would give up a big play, the offense would turn the ball over or there would be a special teams miscue. It seemed that was repeating itself in Week 1 as the Seahawks were driving down the field and looked poised to score after San Francisco took the lead on the miracle touchdown to tight end Jake Tonges, but defensive end Nick Bosa came up clutch with a strip-sack of Hawks quarterback Sam Darnold to close it out and secure a 17-13 victory.
Similarly in Week 2, New Orleans had the ball in the final two minutes and had an opportunity to go down the field and score a touchdown to reclaim the lead, but this time, edge rusher Bryce Huff got the strip-sack which was recovered by San Francisco to end the game with a score of 26-21. Both times, coordinator Robert Saleh's defense delivered the goods when it mattered the most.
We will see if this trend continues, but it is nice the 49ers have already matched their number of one-score victories from last season through two weeks this year. It seems like this San Francisco team is built to play in a lot of close games, so it is good that it's building confidence early on.
The more the Niners can draw on positive experiences going forward and start to think of themselves as a team that closes the door when the chips are down in close games, the better they will be.