Why San Francisco 49ers will go to Super Bowl

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has acquired: san francisco 49ers Oh, we're so close to winning our sixth Super Bowl. Over the past five years, the Niners have appeared in the NFC Championship Game three times and advanced to the Super Bowl once. Will this be the year San Francisco finally breaks out?

Mr. Shanahan made a bold bet this year that he could win with Mr. Irrelevant, the most important position in sports. Brock Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, led a loaded team to a 12-5 record and the top seed in the NFC. Purdy is surrounded by All-Pro players on both sides of the ball, but he's also one of the most talented QBs in the league this year. The 49ers' belief in Purdy has worked out very well thus far, but this Niners team was always going to be judged on whether it could win a Super Bowl.

with detroit lions With the conference title game on the horizon, here are three reasons why the 49ers should be in the Super Bowl.

Christian McCaffrey

There's a reason Christian McCaffrey was named an MVP finalist.

Not only did McCaffrey lead the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards, but how he gained those yards is even more impressive.according to next generation statistics McCaffrey has faced 8 or more wins. Defender percentage in the box is 36.03% In his snaps this year, he faced the most of any NFL running back this season.

McCaffrey also led the NFL in rushing yards over expected (RYOE) with 349, averaging 1.32 RYOE per attempt, second only to rookie Devon Ashen.

So even if the Lions want to stack the box and let Brock Purdy beat them, it might not matter given what McCaffrey has done this season. He can still find a way to pick up yardage on the ground at an impressive clip, even against stacked boxes.

Now, McCaffrey may win MVP, but what he accomplished this season could set him on the path to bigger things.

Super Bowl MVP.

fred warner

Jared Goff loves living in the middle of a field.

Looking at his “QB grid” this season, next generation statistics For the 2023 season, you can see how successful Goff is in attacking the middle of the field. On throws between the hash marks in the 0-10 yard range, Goff has an NFL passer rating of 116.5, well above the league average of 90.5.

On throws to the field area in the 11-20 yard range, Goff's NFL passer rating is 125.0, well above the league average of 85.7.

But on Sunday, many of those pitches will test Fred Warner, perhaps the most dynamic off-ball linebacker in the NFL today. Earlier this season, we likened Warner to a “telomorph.” star field, a long-awaited video game released by Bethesda last fall. Those creatures can grow quickly and ruin your day in an instant.

He is very similar to Warner with the athleticism to not only play sideline to sideline against the run, but also carry receivers vertically and muffle throws in the middle of the field. If Warner can take these areas of the field away from Goff, it will be a long day for the Detroit offense.

Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images

chase young

Although it was one of the biggest midseason trades of the year, it has been a quiet season for Young as a member of the 49ers. He has 20 pressures and 2.5 sacks as a member of the vaunted San Francisco defense, but too often he feels like he's under the radar when watching games. The 49ers' defensive front will have to win the battle, as the Lions are running five-man protection as they have been (credit to their dominant offensive line). Nick Bosa vs. Penei Sewell will be a battle between two of the best in the game, but from a production standpoint, Young has to beat LT Taylor Decker to win this game. right.

Lions QB Jared Goff was good when he stayed clean, but under pressure it's a different story. According to Sports Info Solutions, Goff's on-target percentage under pressure is 58.9%, which ranks him 21st out of 26 QBs with his 100 attempts under pressure. However, his on-target percentage when staying clean is 79.9%, which ranks him 10th in the entire NFL for the same parameters. The idea is to constantly put pressure on Goff, and that means Young needs to play like the player the Niners wanted to acquire in a trade, as well as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. It means that there is.