Why Sharpe believes 49ers will win NFC West despite sluggish start originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Shannon Sharpe has the utmost confidence in the 49ers to make a late-season run and clinch the NFC West.
When asked about which team he has more faith in, San Francisco or the Philadelphia Eagles, the ESPN pundit explained why he likes the 49ers.
“I just trust the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan,” Sharpe said on “First Take” on Tuesday. “I don’t expect him to make boneheaded plays — as many — as Nick Sirianni makes. AJ Brown is still dinged a little bit.
“So obviously Christian McCaffrey, who has been hurt for a large part of the season, but they do get Jauan Jennings back, [Jon] Feliciano back, a couple of other guys back. So, I like the direction they are heading in. If they can keep these guys healthy for a substantial period of time, I expect them to come out and win the NFC West and make a strong run into the playoffs.”
San Francisco has had an up-and-down start to the 2024 NFL season, currently at 4-4 and one game behind the Arizona Cardinals for first place in the NFC West. The team has been hamstrung by injuries and sloppy play, blowing fourth-quarter leads and struggling to contain some of the more explosive offenses they’ve played.
Now coming off a bye week to get healthy, the 49ers are in a good spot heading into the second half of the season. Getting McCaffrey back will add another dimension to the offense, which will take some of the pressure off quarterback Brock Purdy.
Given the weakness of the NFC West compared to other divisions in the conference, winning the division might be the only way San Francisco makes it into the NFL playoffs.
Sharpe believes the team will have no trouble righting the ship, and given Shanahan’s track record of performance after the bye week — where he is 43-18 (.704) — he’s right to think so.
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