The San Francisco 49ers did not make any big moves at the NFL trade deadline, much to the chagrin of fans who wanted to see the team be aggressive.
Now, there is really only one way for the Niners to be competitive the rest of this season.
On the one hand, it makes sense the Niners did not do much at the deadline. General manager John Lynch has made clear that the asking price for players they were interested in was just too high. Some teams were willing to meet the high asking price like the Dallas Cowboys, who traded a second-round and first-round pick to the New York Jets for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
San Francisco decided to stand pat even though its defensive line has been completely ravaged by injuries.
That leaves the defense in a pretty tough spot for the rest of the season. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has done a good job getting the most out of a young defensive unit that is being patched together week after week, but it is just too much to expect it to shut down opponents for the rest of the season.
In comes the offense.
49ers offense must carry the defense to make the playoffs
The 49ers have been alright on offense this year, but they are going to have to be good (if not great) to make a legitimate run at the postseason the rest of the way.
San Francisco put up 34 points last Sunday against the New York Giants in the team's highest-scoring showing this season, and it feels like it'll have to put up close to 30-plus points in every game going forward to have a chance to win.
The 49ers haven't exactly been a team designed to win high-scoring offensive shootouts under head coach Kyle Shanahan, but that may be their only way to get it done especially against teams like the Los Angeles Rams, whom they will face on Sunday in a game that has huge potential playoff implications.
Thankfully, quarterback Mac Jones has done an admirable job filling in for Brock Purdy, and running back Christian McCaffrey has looked like his old self coming off an injury-ravaged 2024 campaign. The offense still boasts tight end George Kittle as well, so it has the weapons to be a high-powered offense.
It is going to take Shanahan being on his game the rest of the year and the stars on offense remaining healthy.
But if those two things occur, then maybe the offense can carry the team for the rest of the season.