It’s been only two weeks, but the San Francisco 49ers are looking like a true Super Bowl contender this year after a pair of dominant wins to start the season.
After a 27-7 blowout over the Los Angeles Rams as an underdog, the 49ers cruised past the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, scoring touchdowns on each of their first five drives as they won 35-13 in a game where they never really looked in trouble.
It was an amazing day for Brock Purdy, who completed 20 of 22 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns,
while adding a third on the ground. San Francisco didn’t need much on the ground because their passing game was so dominant, as Purdy connected well with George Kittle and Mike Evans, who led the team in receiving.
Heading into the season, the 49ers were seen as a playoff contender, but most still viewed them as the clear No. 3 team in their division behind the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and powerhouse Los Angeles Rams. Well, after two weeks, the 49ers have the best odds in the NFC to reach the playoffs at -320, according to FanDuel.
Behind them are the Seahawks (-300) and Rams (-290), while the Philadelphia Eagles (-270) are the only other team above -200 odds. Now, when it comes to Super Bowl odds, the 49ers are still behind both the Rams (+650) and Seahawks (+950) at +1000 odds, while ranking behind the Buffalo Bills (+750) and alongside the Baltimore Ravens (+1000).
San Francisco has a big three-week stretch coming up. They first face the Arizona Cardinals at home in Week 3, giving them a chance at a 2-0 start in the division, before facing the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks (road). If they can find a way to go 2-1 in that stretch, the 49ers will be in a great position through the first quarter of the season, looking like true Super Bowl contenders.
Of course, as always with this team, the key will be health. The 49ers have dealt with a ton of injury issues ahead of the season, and they had two more receiver injuries on Sunday, as Demarcus Robinson had an ankle issue, while Mike Evans had a hip issue. Evans’s doesn’t seem to be serious, while Robinson will likely miss a couple of weeks.
But the 49ers look much more complete as a team through two weeks than what they showed last season, especially on defense. In addition, Brock Purdy has looked sharp to start the season and is slowly emerging as a dark horse MVP candidate.
Currently, he sits as fourth in MVP odds at +950 behind Josh Allen (+250), Joe Burrow (+850), and Patrick Mahomes (+850). This upcoming three-game stretch will tell us a lot about Purdy, as the 49ers will be in some tougher game environments, but there’s been a lot of good from the San Francisco quarterback to start the year.
When the schedule initially came out during the offseason, the 49ers’ end-of-season schedule looked like a gauntlet. From Weeks 10 to 17, they face the Dallas Cowboys (road), Minnesota Vikings (Mexico City), Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants (road), Los Angeles Rams (home), Los Angeles Chargers (road), Kansas City Chiefs (road), and Philadelphia Eagles.
Outside of the Chargers, each of those teams has looked good to start the year. That makes it imperative to have a strong start. So far, so good.
