The 2025 49ers Will Go as Far as Brock Purdy, Offense Can Take Them
Healthy, paid, and with a full supporting cast, it's time to see what Purdy is truly made of.
Through ten weeks, the 2025 season for the San Francisco 49ers has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. The weekly injury report has been an adventure in and of itself with new names added at an unusually high rate, and filled with star players that have already or will miss significant time. The last eight weeks have showcased the highs and lows as the 49ers have alternated wins and loses weekly, going 4-4 in that time frame. As the NFL season enters its homestretch and teams begin their push to the postseason, it is clear that with an atrophied defense, the 49ers hopes will be in the hands of returning QB Brock Purdy and the finally healthy offense.
While the 49ers defense has performed well at times, the injuries and inexperience have been exposed in many ways, especially in the recent losses against the Texans and Rams. Robert Saleh’s defensive front has been unable to provide much of a pass rush while giving those opposing quarterbacks time and opportunity to pick them apart, taking advantage of glaring coverage deficiencies at linebacker and safety.
As the defense fights through the obvious growing pains, the upcoming stretch run of the season, as well as the 49ers playoff path, will be reliant on the performance of the offense and their ability to stretch and push the ball down the field and keep the defense on the sideline. The theory of the best defense being a great offense will be tested in spades over the next seven games.
With Purdy and WR Ricky Pearsall returning from injury, Kyle Shanahan will finally have his full offense intact for the first time since the first quarter of the 49ers week one matchup at Seattle. In the lone drive of the season with a fully healthy offensive unit, Purdy led the offense on a 14 play, 95-yard drive that culminated in a George Kittle five-yard touchdown reception. Against a Seattle defense that is widely considered one of the best units in the league, this was one of the most efficient drives of the season even if it was only the first drive in the first game.
Fighting through injuries and with a revolving door at the receiver spot, the offense has been very good led by Mac Jones and Christian McCaffrey, but with stars returning and having a full complement of weapons at his disposal. Shanahan should be able to take this offense to new heights by spreading the ball and testing defenses downfield, while also taking some workload off of McCaffrey to slow down his league lead in touches.
In Purdy’s absence, Jones led an efficient and effective offense, but explosive plays were limited at best. As Purdy shakes off the rust and begins to find a rhythm in his return, expect to see that gunslinger mentality that propelled the 49ers offense to new levels in 2022 re-emerge. Scoring points consistently and running a time consuming, ball control offense will be the reason that this years’ 49ers squad will or will not find a path to the postseason, and will determine if this team can make a run without some of its biggest names able to contribute to their success.