The San Francisco 49ers were a big topic of conversation among the FOX NFL Kickoff team this past weekend.
The 49ers enter their bye week at 9–4, armed with a 93 percent chance to secure a playoff berth according to The Athletic’s simulator.
It’s a remarkable position for a team that’s spent much of the season patching holes and reshuffling starters, but with January looming, the central question shifts from if the 49ers will get in to how far they can actually go once the stakes rise.
On FOX NFL Kickoff, the crew tackled that exact dilemma—and sparked a lively debate about San Francisco’s ceiling.
Hall of Famer Charles Woodson didn’t hesitate to voice his belief in Kyle Shanahan’s ability to navigate adversity. For Woodson, the coach’s track record alone keeps the 49ers in the contender conversation.
“Kyle Shanahan is the Andy Reid without Patrick Mahomes,” Woodson said, drawing parallels to Reid’s pre-Kansas City tenure in Philadelphia.
Reid posted a 130–93 record and reached five NFC title games before finally breaking through with Mahomes years later.
Woodson sees that same steady hand in Shanahan, who has taken the 49ers to the postseason four times and reached at least the NFC Championship Game each time.
The roadblocks, Woodson noted, have been legends: Tom Brady on one side, Patrick Mahomes on the other. “If he gets to the playoffs, which I think he will, there’s a chance he gets to the championship game,” he said.
But the optimism wasn’t unanimous. Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman put the brakes on, pointing to the devastating losses of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.
Missing the defense’s biggest playmakers is a different kind of challenge, one that can tilt a playoff game in a heartbeat.
Enter Jameis Winston, who offered a fresh counterpoint.
The current Giants quarterback argued that San Francisco’s defensive identity, rooted in former coordinator Robert Saleh’s principles, allows them to stay competitive even when personnel thins.
“That defense is a true bend-but-don’t-break defense,” Winston said. “You add and place people in those roles. That defense is going to play great football.”
But Winston’s strongest endorsement came when he shifted to the offensive side. “When the 49ers have Shanahan, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Trent Williams, I got a lot of money on them,” he said. “You can’t sleep on guys like that.”
The 49ers have weathered injuries all season and still emerged as one of the NFC’s most dangerous teams, but the postseason is a different ecosystem—faster, harsher, and far less forgiving.
Whether San Francisco’s resilience can carry them deeper than their bruised roster suggests will be one of the defining stories of this year’s playoff race.