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It’s been a long time since the 49ers last had a winning season. Their 36-26 victory Sunday over the Cardinals put San Francisco at nine wins, and secured their first season above the .500 mark since 2013.
That 2013 campaign was their third consecutive winning season. They finished 12-4 and lost in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers went 25-55 from 2014 to 2018, and their best record in that stretch was an 8-8 outing in 2014. In that time they’ve gone through four head coaches, two general managers and six starting quarterbacks.
Getting to nine wins is a significant hurdle for the 49ers to clear after two abysmal years to kick off head coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure.
What’s been most impressive this year is how they’ve been able to overcome injuries. That’s due in part to work general manager John Lynch and the front office have done to generate enough depth that injuries become less of a roadblock, but still, San Francisco has found ways to win games this year that it repeatedly lost for five consecutive years.
The 49ers are a franchise with a rich enough championship pedigree that nine wins in a season can’t be celebrated. That’s especially true when considering a nine-win season after a 9-1 start would be massively disappointing. However, it’s worth recognizing considering the lows the franchise hit between 2013 and now.
San Francisco has a long way to go before it can start sniffing its sixth Lombardi Trophy, but getting to nine wins 11 weeks into the year and securing a season above .500 is a good start down that path.