The San Francisco 49ers almost managed to bring home a Super Bowl title last year, but they are prime candidates to take a big step back in 2020.
San Francisco 49ers fans are anxious to get the 2020 season underway. They see it as an opportunity to atone from last year’s Super Bowl loss. Unfortunately for the 49ers, they’re poised to take a significant step back this year.
That doesn’t mean they’re going to suddenly become NFC West bottom-feeders. It’s still safe to project the Niners as a playoff team. The challenge the team won’t be able to overcome is, once again, to call themselves one of the elite teams in the NFL.
Read on to discover the top five reasons why the 49ers are poised for regression in 2020.
5. Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t a difference-maker
It’s easy to forget that Garoppolo is already 28 years old. He spent a lot of time on the sidelines in New England before he assumed the starting role in San Francisco.
That means he doesn’t have a ton of upside left. The quarterback he was in 2019 is largely the quarterback he’s going to be in 2020. That’s not good news for 49ers fans who want him to grow into a legitimate MVP candidate.
That means San Francisco can comfortably predict for Garoppolo to throw for somewhere around 4,000 yards with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2:1 again in 2020. He’s not going to do anything more for his offense than that. He’s much closer to a game manager than a star.
That reality is likely going to frustrate players inside the 49ers locker room as next season progresses. He’s being paid a ton of money by the franchise to be their offensive talisman. The realization that he’s not that guy is going to cause serious issues inside the San Francisco locker room.