A win over the Las Vegas Raiders on New Year's Day would be the 49ers' ninth straight. You have to go back a lot further to find a San Francisco team that accomplished the same thing—all the way to 1997.
The 1997 Niners started their season 11-1, winning 11 consecutive after dropping the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team went on to finish the season with a 13-3 record and won a playoff game before losing to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.
This year's 49ers have Super Bowl aspirations, even after losing two starting quarterbacks. Rookie Brock Purdy is at the helm of the offense after Trey Lance went down with a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered what is likely a season-ending foot injury during Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins.
There is a slight chance that Garoppolo could return in some capacity should the 49ers make a deep playoff run. While it's not something that head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are optimistic about, the team opted not to place the veteran quarterback on injured reserve.
There may be no sense of urgency to get Garoppolo back, though. The 49ers are playing well with Purdy under center. The rookie quarterback has completed over 69 percent of his passes for 636 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception while earning a passer rating of 121.4 over his three NFL starts. By comparison, Garoppolo completed just over 69 percent of his passes for 690 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions while earning a passer rating of 108.0 in his three starts before his injury.
Ahead of Saturday's game against the Washington Commanders, NFL insider Jay Glazer reported that San Francisco is hoping Garoppolo can return for the postseason.
"He'll have [the walking boot] taken off after next weekend's game [against the Raiders]," Glazer said on-air during FOX's pre-game show. "The team is holding out hope that there's a possibility—even though Purdy is playing great—that Garoppolo will be able to play in the postseason. But they'll know more when they get that walking boot taken off after next week's game."
The 6-9 Raiders host the 11-4 and playoff-bound 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, January 1, with kickoff scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PT.
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