San Francisco 49ers: 2018 Season preview, prediction and more
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to build on last year’s strong finish and push for the playoffs. Here we preview their 2018 campaign.
Once you have your quarterback, things change rapidly in the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers know this and now head into 2018 on the back of a rapid rise in expectations following the arrival of Jimmy Garoppolo midway through last season.
Garoppolo’s five-game unbeaten run as starter for the 49ers has seen many install San Francisco as playoff contenders. Still, the consensus remains that this is a team a year away from having legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
The Niners face a challenging schedule, particularly in the first half of the season, so we can expect to learn right off the bat if this young team is ready to compete with the NFL’s very best.
Garoppolo and how he develops after a full offseason in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme will obviously play a key role in determining the 49ers fortunes in 2018. However, a defense that made strides towards the end of last season will also need to step up for San Francisco to avoid being in shootouts every week.
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With Garoppolo helming an offense increasingly stocked with dynamic young talent, and the majority of the pieces in place for a similarly exciting defense, the scene is set for a season of great intrigue as the Niners aim to live up to the hype after four successive years of missing the playoffs.
The 2018 season will be a measuring stick for how close this team is to have a legitimate shot at winning it all, yet San Francisco fans should not worry too much about whether the Niners can live up to the heightened expectations, instead they should relish looking ahead to a campaign, not with the apathy that has consumed recent years, but with genuine excitement.