The San Francisco 49ers are very good at football.
It seems obvious now after a 30-7 trashing of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, but the negativity and uncertainty of the offseason blinded many of us to that simple truth - myself included.
With their victory in Week 1, the 49ers are approaching rare air in both franchise and NFL history. If the Niners win on Sunday against the Rams, they'll move into sole possession of the second-longest regular season winning streak in the history of the organization (passing the 1997 49ers).
Think about that for a second. This is a team that has one of the most storied histories in all of football. They have five Super Bowl titles. They can claim some of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform. Yet right now, at this very moment, they are in the midst of at least the second-longest winning streak they have ever had.
Like I said, the San Francisco 49ers are very good at football.
The longest regular season winning streak in 49ers history, in case you're wondering, belongs to the 1989-1990 49ers, who won 15 straight games across those two seasons. They also won their second straight Super Bowl in 1989 and lost in the NFC Championship Game in 1990 thanks to an injury to Joe Montana and a late fumble by Roger Craig.
In order to overtake that '89-'90 team, Kyle Shanahan's bunch would have to open this season 6-0. That would include victories over not just the Steelers, obviously, but also the Rams, Giants, Cardinals, Cowboys, and Browns.
In terms of NFL history, a victory Sunday would mean 12 in a row, which would tie the 1990-1991 Washington football team for the ninth longest streak ever. If the 49ers did manage to set a new team record with 16 straight victories, it would also be tied for the fifth longest winning streak in the history of pro football.
If you're really ambitious, the team that holds the all-time record for consecutive regular season victories is the Colts. Peyton Manning and company closed the 2008 season with nine straight wins and opened the following year 14-0 for a total of 23 straight victories across those two seasons.
If the 49ers want to surpass that, all they have to do is go 15-0 this year.
At this point, you can't put it past them.
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