LAS VEGAS — The 49ers’ streaky season is ending on a heater as they reach Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. All the 49ers have to do now is cash out with their long-sought sixth Lombardi Trophy, and their first since the 1994 season. Here is a game-by-game look at that road to the NFL’s ultimate riches:
WEEK 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers: Win, 30-7
It took only 2 ½ minutes for Brock Purdy to throw the first of his two touchdown passes to Brandon Aiyuk. That was a polar opposite scene to last season’s exit on the other side of Pennsylvania, where Purdy’s throwing elbow was injured to doom the NFC title game. “Once I hit that touchdown, I wasn’t thinking (about) surgery,” Purdy said. “It was, ‘Man, we’re here to win. This is it. This is how we’re going to play.’ ” The 49ers leapt out to a 20-0 lead, outgaining the Steelers 223-1 over that hot start.
Nick Bosa’s presence, only days after signing a massive contract, no doubt helped Drake Jackson rack up three sacks. But the biggest production came from Christian McCaffrey’s season-high 152 yards and 22 carries, the best of which was a 65-yard touchdown run 58 seconds after halftime for a 27-7, call-off-the-fight lead. Fourth-quarter chants of “Let’s Go Niners” rang out from the 49ers Faithful, who traveled in mass better than ever this season.
THREE STARS: 1. Purdy (19-of-29, 220 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions); 2. McCaffrey (152 rushing yards, touchdown); 3. Jackson (all three of his sacks this season came this game).
WEEK 2 at Los Angeles Rams: Win, 30-23
Ho-hum, a ninth straight regular-season win over their SoCal rivals. Three overthrows by Purdy foiled potential touchdowns and stirred questions about his elbow. He did not commit a turnover, however, while 49ers cornerbacks Isaiah Oliver and Deommodore Lenoir intercepted Matthews Stafford. A key call came when coach Kyle Shanahan bypassed a chip-shot field goal to have Purdy score on a 1-yard sneak to enter the half with a 17-17 tie. Jake Moody made all three of his field-goal attempts, including a 57-yarder (a 49ers rookie record) for the go-ahead points after halftime.
THREE STARS: 1. McCaffrey (opening-drive touchdown, 51-yard run to end first quarter); 2. Samuel (101 yards from scrimmage, fourth-quarter touchdown run); 3. Isaiah Oliver (interception at the 49ers’ 25-yard line).
WEEK 3 vs. New York Giants: Win, 30-12
It’s a third straight win with 30 points, only this one came in the home opener, in 1994 throwback jerseys, and in the Thursday Night Football spotlight. The Giants blitzed Purdy on 33-of-39 dropbacks, but he passed for 310 yards without an interception. The offense hummed along thanks to professional tackle breaker Deebo Samuel, a black-eyed George Kittle (90 receiving yards) and the NFL-leading rusher, McCaffrey. Moody made three field goals for the third straight game. Javon Hargrave’s home debut featured a sack, and Nick Bosa got his first sack as the NFL’s highest-paid defender.
THREE STARS: 1. Samuel (129 receiving yards, touchdown); 2. McCaffrey (85 rushing yards, touchdown); 3. Michigan rookies Moody (three field goals) and Ronnie Bell (touchdown catch).
WEEK 4 vs. Arizona Cardinals: Win, 35-16
While McCaffrey scored four touchdowns, Purdy stealthily completed 21-of-22 passes for a franchise-record 95.2 completion percentage. Purdy’s lone incompletion was a third-and-long throwaway toward McCaffrey. Speaking of which, McCaffrey nearly matched Jerry Rice and Ricky Watters for the 49ers’ single-game touchdown record (including playoffs), only to be denied a fifth touchdown when tackled at the 2-yard line in the final minutes. Shanahan then called for a Purdy sneak to cap the scoring, and the coach was apologetic afterward about McCaffrey’s record hunt, saying: “Honestly I had no idea until I just came in here that he had four touchdowns. I never know that type of stuff. I’m actually shocked. Now I kind of feel bad.”
THREE STARS: 1. McCaffrey (four touchdowns); 2. Purdy (broke Steve Young’s 49ers record for single-game completion percentage); 3. Aiyuk (returned from shoulder injury, totaled a career-high 148 receiving yards).
San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (85) makes a touchdown catch against Dallas Cowboys’ Jourdan Lewis (2) in the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
WEEK 5 vs. Dallas Cowboys: Win, 42-10
The greatest regular-season win in Levi’s Stadium’s 10-year history coincided with the 49ers’ most lopsided win ever against their longtime rivals, on the Sunday night stage, to boot. Purdy delivered four touchdown passes, including three to George Kittle. McCaffrey scored in his 14th consecutive game. While the 49ers defense often was overlooked in the season’s 5-0 start, linebacker Fred Warner certainly did not in this game, as he notched a sack, a forced fumble and an interception. Dak Prescott was intercepted on three straight series in the second half as he and the 49ers’ starting defense took an early seat. “For our D-linemen to get pulled with five minutes left in the third quarter, against a team like that, shows we’re on a different level this year,” Nick Bosa said.
THREE STARS: 1. Brock Purdy (career-high four touchdown passes, no interceptions through 136 attempts overall); 2. George Kittle (three touchdown receptions); 3. Fred Warner (sack, forced fumble, interception, team-high eight tackles)
WEEK 6 at Cleveland Browns: Loss, 19-17
Even after losing McCaffrey (oblique) and Samuel (shoulder) to injuries, Purdy directed a potential game-winning drive, only to see Jake Moody push a 41-yard field-goal attempt wide right in the final seconds. The Browns showed their playoff moxie in pregame by engaging in a scuffle with Samuel and others. Rain and wind proved unkind to Purdy (career-worst 44.4 completion percentage on 12-of-27 passing for 125 yards, one touchdown, one interception). Samuel was hurt on the first series, McCaffrey was gone by the fourth quarter, and left tackle Trent Williams gutted through an ankle injury. The Browns made a winner out of backup quarterback P.J. Walker, who had a potential interception dropped by Tashaun Gipson in the end zone. Officials incorrectly called unnecessary roughness on a Gipson (shoulder-leading) hit that sparked the Browns’ go-ahead field-goal drive.
THREE STARS: 1. Fred Warner (interception for second straight game); 2. Lenoir (interception return set up Jordan Mason touchdown on the next snap); 3. Ray-Ray McCloud (Samuel’s replacement).
WEEK 7 at Minnesota Vikings: Loss, 22-17
Down 22-17 in the fourth quarter, Purdy converted a fourth-and-1 sneak, but absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit that may have led to concussion symptoms on the flight home. What followed that play, however, were two uncharacteristic interceptions. This loss’s fall guy was defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who called an all-out blitz just before halftime as Kirk Cousins responded with a 60-yard touchdown pass for a 16-7 lead. Charvarius Ward intercepted Cousins earlier in the first half and nearly nabbed that scoring strike. Shanahan publicly critiqued the all-out blitz call. Samuel and Williams missed with injuries. Cousins shed his typical Monday night misery and lit up the 49ers for 378 yards and no sacks.
THREE STARS: 1. McCaffrey (played all 53 snaps despite oblique injury, scored on 35-yard catch and 3-yard run); 2. George Kittle (team-high 78 receiving yards); 3. Jaylon Moore (capably filled in at left tackle for Williams).
WEEK 8 vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Loss, 31-17
An 11-game home win streak ended and the haggard 49ers dragged a three-game losing streak into their bye. McCaffrey produced both 49ers touchdowns to match an NFL record by scoring in 17 straight games. Purdy, a day after being cleared from a concussion, marred things with three turnovers, including interceptions on back-to-back drives. Williams and Samuel missed a second straight game. The 49ers’ defense yielded 19 consecutive completions to Joe Burrow (283 yards, three touchdowns). “We’ve gotten away with a number of stuff on our win streak. And we haven’t these last three weeks,” Shanahan said.
THREE STARS: 1. McCaffrey (surpassed Lenny Moore’s touchdown streak); 2. Arik Armstead (two sacks); 3. Clelin Ferrell (forced fumble, split sack).
WEEK 9: Bye
Shredded the past two games by Cousins and Burrow, the 49ers hit the trade market for a pass rusher and acquired Chase Young from Washington, for a 2024 third-round pick.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 12: Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates a sack with Javon Hargrave #98 of the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on November 12, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) Getty Images
WEEK 10: at Jacksonville, Win 34-3
The 49ers, in Young’s debut, produced their best pass rush of the season. Bosa and Hargrave each had 1 ½ sacks, and each pressured Trevor Lawrence on interceptions by Talanoa Hufanga and Warner. Bosa and Young sandwiched Lawrence to force a fumble with the 49ers ahead 10-0. Purdy set a career-high with a 148.9 passer rating, and he showed pocket moxie with a 66-yard touchdown throw to Kittle. Williams and Samuel returned to the lineup. McCaffrey was given a shot to score in a record-setting 18th straight game, but he couldn’t get in amid a late charge. “Winning on the road against a team that’s been rolling … it’s definitely what we needed,” Williams said of the Jaguars, who had won their last five.
THREE STARS: 1. Bosa (1 ½ sacks, 1 fumble, 1 fumble recovery); 2. Purdy (296 yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers); 3. Hargrave (1 ½ sacks, three QB hits).
WEEK 11 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Win, 27-14
Purdy posted the highest passer rating possible (158.3), the first 49ers quarterback to do since 1989, when merely Joe Montana and Steve Young did so. Purdy was 21-of-25 for 333 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That included a 76-yard scoring bomb to Aiyuk. Purdy reached that “perfect” rating on his third touchdown pass, a 3-yarder to in the third quarter Kittle for a 27-7 lead. All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga sustained a season-ending knee injury attempting an open-field tackle on Rachaad White.
THREE STARS: 1. Purdy (first 49ers quarterback with a 158.3 rating on at least 20 passes); 2. Aiyuk (156 yards); 3. Warner (11 tackles, forced fumble).
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey holds a turkey leg and a football as he walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023, in Seattle. The 49ers won 31-13. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) A.P. Photo
Week 12 at Seattle Seahawks: Win, 31-13
A Thanksgiving feast broke out postgame, as a cadre of 49ers’ stars devoured a fresh-baked turkey, mimicking the Seahawks’ scene in 2014 at Levi’s Stadium. McCaffrey’s two touchdown runs teed up a 24-3 halftime lead, and Purdy rebounded from his first career pick-six to shred the Seahawks secondary with a 28-yard touchdown pass, dubbed a “dot” by Aiyuk after he caught it with 7:51 left. The 49ers climbed to the NFC No. 2 spot, past the Lions and behind the Eagles, their next foe.
THREE STARS: 1. McCaffrey (two touchdowns for NFL-best 16 on season), 2. Ward (three pass breakups), 3. Bosa (two of 49ers’ six sacks)
Week 13 at Philadelphia Eagles: Win, 42-19
No win signified the 49ers’ NFC superiority more than this, when they returned Dec. 3 to the scene of last season’s NFC Championship Game gallows. The 49ers scored touchdowns on six consecutive series after the first quarter. A sideshow broke out on the Eagles’ sideline between linebacker Dre Greenlaw and the Eagles’ security czar, “Big Dom” DiSandro; both were ejected. Jalen Hurts’ 1-yard “Brotherly Shove” touchdown run cut the 49ers’ lead to 21-13, but Purdy’s touchdown passes to Deebo Samuel (48 yards) and Jauan Jennings (18 yards) silenced Eagles fans. Once it was over, the large swath of 49ers Faithful chanted Purdy’s name as he ran off the field triumphant.
THREE STARS: 1. Samuel (138 total yards, three touchdowns); 2. Purdy (314 passing yards, four touchdowns); 3. Pass rush (the 49ers’ patience kept Jalen Hurts in the pocket).
Week 14 vs. Seattle Seahawks: Win, 28-16
The 49ers vaulted into the NFC’s No. 1 spot by virtue of this fifth straight win, coupled with the Eagles’ loss later that night to the Cowboys. Samuel added two touchdowns to his scoring spree. McCaffrey’s 72-yard run on the game’s first snap set in motion his fifth 100-yard rushing game. Purdy stated his MVP case with a career-high 368 yards and his seventh straight game with at least a 70% completion rate. The game wasn’t complete until Seahawks star D.K. Metcalf mixed it up with Warner, and it was Metcalf who was ejected along with Lenoir.
THREE STARS: 1. Samuel (150 total yards, 2 touchdowns); 2. McCaffrey (145 rushing yards); 3. Purdy (368 passing yards).
Week 15 at Arizona Cardinals: Win, 45-29
The NFC West champion hats and T-shirts were on full display afterward. Ward solidified his first Pro Bowl bid with two interceptions, the first of which he returned for his first career pick-six and the go-ahead score. Purdy’s four-touchdown homecoming came with a big-time scare, when he got hit and sustained a left-shoulder stinger. Purdy missed only three snaps and capped that drive with a touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey, one of his three scores on a 187-yard day. McCaffrey and Trent Williams shared the mic at the postgame podium, flashing smiles knowing they certainly could be headed to their first career Super Bowl.
THREE STARS: 1. Ward (two interceptions); 2. Purdy (four touchdown passes); 3. McCaffrey (three touchdowns).
Week 16 vs. Baltimore Ravens: Loss, 33-19
Christmas night brought a four-interception fiasco from Purdy, who spoiled the 49ers’ opening drive with an interception into the end zone. Adding injury to insult, Purdy exited with eight minutes left after a shoulder stinger that shot pain similar to the last game. While Ravens counterpart Lamar Jackson took control of the NFL MVP race, the 49ers remained atop the NFC playoff race: “It’s not like the building is on fire,” Kittle said.
THREE STARS: 1. Kittle (126 yards, one touchdown); 2. McCaffrey (103 yards, 14th and final rushing TD of regular season); 3. Hargrave (1sack in his return from hamstring injury).
Week 17 at Washington Commanders: Win, 27-10
A euphoric roar came from FedEx Field’s visiting locker room on New Year’s Eve. Dramatic minutes after the 49ers beat the Washington Commanders 27-10, the No. 1 seed would be packed in their luggage home, courtesy of NFC challenger Philadelphia losing to the Cardinals. But first, the 49ers pulled past the Commanders with a second-half show that saw McCaffrey exit with a calf strain, Elijah Mitchell score for a 20-10 lead, then, in the knockout punch, Ward made an interception at the 2-yard line to halt the Commanders’ comeback bid.
THREE STARS: 1. Ward (interception near 49ers’ goal line), 2. Purdy (redirected Aiyuk for a touchdown pass); 3. Moody (made all his kicks, for final time before Super Bowl)
Week 18 vs Los Angeles Rams: Loss, 21-20
With the No. 1 seed secure, most starters were pulled by halftime or other mainstays did not suit up as a precaution, which was the case for Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Greenlaw. Defensive end Clelin Ferrell sustained a season-ending knee injury and kicker Moody first missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt before also missing a point-after kick (to snap his 60-for-60 career start on PATs).
THREE STARS: 1. Sam Darnold (5-for-5 on opening drive before starters pulled); 2. Mitchell (touchdown in second straight game); 3. Tayler Hawkins (interception in NFL debut)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a 10-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk (11) for a first down on the game-winning drive against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Divisional playoff vs. Green Bay Packers: Win, 24-21
The 49ers escaped their playoff opener by overcoming a 21-14, fourth-quarter deficit. Interceptions, both by Greenlaw, served as bookends to the second-half comeback. Moody’s 52-yard field goal opened the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to 21-17, and his Packers rookie counterpart, Anders Carlson, missed a 41-yard kick. That invited Purdy to shake off his slippery-when-wet start and engineer a go-ahead touchdown drive. A 6-yard scoring run by McCaffrey capped that 12-play, 69-yard drive with 67 seconds to spare, but it’s worth remembering Purdy’s back-to-back completions to Aiyuk (third-down conversion to the Packers’ 43) and Chris Conley (17 yards), as well as Purdy’s 9-scramble that set up McCaffrey’s touchdown. Greenlaw’s last-minute interception sealed the win once he eventually was tackled on a stubbornly circulous 18-yard return.
THREE STARS: 1. Purdy (7-of-8 for 52 yards, plus 9-yard run on winning drive); 2. Greenlaw (two interceptions); 3. McCaffrey (128 total yards, two touchdown runs in return from calf strain).
NFC Championship vs. Detroit Lions: Win, 34-31
The 49ers secured their eighth NFC crown by matching their 2012 team’s conference-final comeback from a 17-point deficit. This 24-7 halftime deficit was erased by the fourth quarter, sparked by Aiyuk’s acrobatic 51-yard catch to set up his own touchdown catch. Gipson forced a fumble that Armstead recovered to open and close the Lions’ next possession, then the 49ers cashed in with McCaffrey’s second touchdown run of the game to pull even at 24. A 33-yard field goal by Moody put the 49ers ahead, then once the Lions opted against a 48-yard field goal try and instead failed to convert on fourth down, for the second time after halftime. A 21-yard scramble by Purdy and a 25-yard run from McCaffrey set up the 49ers’ final touchdown, a 3-yard run by Mitchell, for insurance points that proved necessary once the Lions scored a last-minute touchdown. In 1957, the Lions were the ones who overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit against the host 49ers at Kezar Stadium to reach the NFL’s title game. Payback came this game, as celebrated by red, white and gold confetti showers.
THREE STARS: 1. Aiyuk (51-yard catch once Purdy’s heave ricocheted off a Lions cornerback’s facemask); 2. Purdy (scrambled for 48 yards, passed for 267 overall after a 7-of-15 first half that included an interception); 3. Gipson (stripped the ball from running back Jahmyr Gibbs to help key the rally).
