San Francisco 49ers: Season awards at the bye week

It’s the bye week for the San Francisco 49ers, so we decided to look back at the games that have gone by and hand out some awards.

It has been a trying season for the San Francisco 49ers. Massively affected by injuries and having been on the wrong side of five successive close defeats earlier in the season, the Niners finally got their first win in Week 11.

A 1-9 record at the bye is far from pretty, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some star performers for the 49ers. Here we recognize those players with some season awards at the bye week.

MVP: Joe Staley

You could make the case that Joe Staley is not the 49ers’ best player, but it would be tough to argue that he isn’t the most important. San Francisco’s offensive line was a mess without the left tackle, with C.J. Beathard getting hit 16 times and being sacked on five occasions in the Week 9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

A week later and with Staley back in the lineup, Beathard was kept clean and not sacked once, enabling him to produce the best performance of his young career and lead the 49ers to victory. Their can be no greater illustration of value than the substantial improvement in the O-line’s play with Staley protecting the quarterback’s blindside.

He remains an elite left tackle and is unquestionably the most valuable player the Niners have.