The San Francisco 49ers finished the 2021 season with a 10-7 record, which was good for third place in the NFC West standings. They made it as far as the NFC Championship game, where they were defeated by the Rams, who went on to win the Super Bowl.
San Francisco averaged 25.1 points per game last season, which was 13th in the league. They gave up 21.5 points per game, which was ninth.
Jimmy Garoppolo completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 3,810 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Even though he still on their roster, the team announced that they are moving on from him and named Trey Lance as their starter for this season.
Lance completed 57.7 percent of his passes for 603 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions as a rookie last season. Elijah Mitchell led the 49ers with 963 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while Deebo Samuel led the team with 1,405 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Samuel has reported to training camp, but his status for the season is unknown after requesting a trade in the offseason.
San Francisco’s offensive line was good last season, but they lost two starters and Mike McGlinchey is coming off surgery in the offseason. They used two draft picks on offensive linemen ad they hope they will be able to contribute this season.
San Francisco 49ers Season Preview
Defensively, the 49ers were one of the best in the league. They are bringing back most of their starters and added depth to their secondary by selecting Samuel Womack and Tariq Castro-Fields in the draft.
The bottom line for San Francisco is they will be successful if Lance plays well, but if they lose Garoppolo and he struggles, expect them to miss out on the playoffs. Oddmakers seem to have a lot of faith in the 49ers this season, with their Super Bowl 2023 odds set at +1300, which is the third best in the league.
