The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a Super Bowl defeat and look to rebound by returning to the big game and winning. That has been a motivating factor during this offseason. A big one. They aren't interested in hearing about a Super Bowl hangover.
The 49ers reported to training camp with a hungry mindset, and players were ready to get started.
"To have that taste in your mouth for six straight months without lining up again next to your teammates to be able to get back to where you want to go and where you know you should have been, it becomes that much more of a driving force for us," offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey recently said.
ESPN used its Football Power Index (FPI) to identify the ceiling and floor for each NFL team during the upcoming season. For example, 90 percent of its simulations have the Buffalo Bills finishing between six and 11 wins. That's their floor and ceiling, respectively.
What was the result for the 49ers? The ceiling is a 12-4 finish to the regular season. Only three teams — the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and New Orleans Saints — had higher ceilings.
Three NFC teams — the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — tied that mark. None came from the NFC West.
ESPN has San Francisco's floor set at 8-8.
Beat writer Nick Wagoner was asked to identify what would determine which end of the win-total spectrum the 49ers would fall. He believes a lot of the team's success or failure will ride on the development of its quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo.
"The 49ers' offense finished fourth in yards and second in points per game in 2019, but it was the defense that got much of the credit for the team's run to Super Bowl LIV," wrote Wagoner. "With DeForest Buckner's departure and the expectation that the defense will regress at least some, the onus falls on the offense to pick up the slack.
"The biggest task for Garoppolo will be cutting down on the turnovers after he threw 13 interceptions last year and had a handful of other potential picks dropped. In his second full year under Kyle Shanahan, Falcons QB Matt Ryan won the MVP. That's probably asking too much of Garoppolo, but if he can cut the turnovers in half or better the way Ryan did, the Niners should be in position to finish on the high end of this range."
