Hint: They were coached by Jim Harbaugh
The San Francisco 49ers have been in the thick of the action over the previous 15 years. They’ve knocked out some top seeds, but also came up short when it mattered the most. Objectively, the Niners have featured some of, if not the best, squads during that time.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put together a list of the top 25 teams during the past 25 years, and only one of the 49ers’ squads made it. Surprisingly, neither of the teams that made the Super Bowl was mentioned.
I think that’s fair. Just under the Kyle Shanahan era, I felt like the 2022 season was the strongest team. They lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship because they played three quarters without a quarterback. Below, the 2011 Niners are listed, thanks in large part to their dominant defense:
20. 2011 San Francisco 49ers (14-4)
Fate: Lost NFC Championship Game to Giants 20-17
Offense: 65th percentile
Defense: 98th percentile
These 49ers might seem like a curious choice. They lost in the NFC title game to the Giants, who aren’t featured in the top 25. The 2012 49ers didn’t have as impressive a regular-season record, but with Colin Kaepernick taking over at quarterback, they boat-raced the Packers in the playoffs and made it to the Super Bowl, where they nearly pulled off a 22-point comeback against Baltimore before coming up just short. The 2012 team also did that against a tougher schedule, coming off its first-place finish in 2011.
I wouldn’t fault you for picking the 2012 team, but the 2011 49ers were more imposing on defense, allowing just over 14 points per game. They had three first-team All-Pros on defense (Justin Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis) and a second-teamer in Carlos Rogers, who had six picks in his best pro season. Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense forced 38 turnovers in a stunning debut season, as the 49ers’ turnover margin (plus-28) tied them with the 2010 Patriots for the best from any team over this 25-year span.
You can tell by the difference in percentiles which side of the ball carried the 49ers during those Harbaugh years. The front seven dominated opponents, while the secondary had enforcers. The offense is the reason this unit isn’t ranked higher:
The offense wasn’t pretty, but with a heavy dose of the running game and safety valves built in for Alex Smith, the 2005 No. 1 pick held his own by protecting the ball. The Niners threw only five interceptions all season and had just two players (Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis) top 250 receiving yards. They filled in some of the gaps on special teams, where their kicker (David Akers) and punter (Andy Lee) were both first-team All-Pros. These 49ers were like a supercharged version of the modern Steelers.
Perhaps I have a soft spot for what happened to them in the postseason, which seems horrible. They won my pick for the best NFL game I’ve ever covered, a brutal, dramatic and eventually cathartic 36-32 victory over the Saints in the divisional round. One win away from the Super Bowl, they were engaged in a defensive struggle against the Giants in the NFC Championship Game, only for it to be decided when returner Kyle Williams muffed two punts to set up the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter and the winning field goal in overtime. The Niners deserved better.
I’d say having a top-tier special-teams unit helped fill in some of the offensive gaps, but when the season ended because of a pair of muffed punts, that praise feels hollow.
If you had to pick one team to represent the 49ers in the past 25 years, which would it be? Scroll down and let us know in the comments.