The San Francisco 49ers haven’t lifted the Lombardi Trophy since 1994, despite consistently putting championship-caliber teams on the field.
Over the past three decades, San Francisco has reached three Super Bowls, made several NFC Championship Game appearances, and suffered some of the most painful near-misses in NFL history.
Pro Football Focus’ latest ranking only adds salt to the wound. The outlet named the 10 best teams to never win a Super Bowl, and two 49ers rosters were featured on the list.
No. 3: 2023 49ers
“Winning the Super Bowl has proven to be a Sisyphean task for Kyle Shanahan. His 2023 squad was certainly worthy of doing so,” wrote Bradley Locker of PFF.
“San Francisco reached Super Bowl 58 with a league-best 95.3 overall PFF grade. Impressively, the 49ers graded no worse than third in both offensive and defensive profile. A whopping nine starters — six on offense and three on defense — secured at least an 84.5 mark, including stars like Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.
“Losing to the Chiefs in overtime in the big game only reaffirms the legitimacy of this 49ers team, which owns the 14th-best point differential in league history.”
This specific team should have won it all in 2023. How this occurred and why they didn’t come home with the ultimate prize remains one of the biggest questions.
Dre Greenlaw going down with his Achilles tear and the 49ers supposedly not knowing the overtime rules were factors, but that team had it all.
No. 10: 2019 49ers
“Poor Shanahan. As if his 2023 season wasn’t grueling enough, he endured much of the same against the Chiefs four years prior,” added Locker.
“The 2019 49ers were a phenomenal group, pacing the league with a 93.9 overall PFF grade. San Francisco sat no worse than sixth in EPA per play on both sides of the ball, including second in defensive and fourth in offensive grade. Many of the same linchpins dominated, although its defense was even scarier with Richard Sherman, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Jimmie Ward next to Bosa.
“The 49ers actually compiled the third-highest point differential during the 2019 campaign at a +169, trailing the Ravens and Patriots. But San Francisco’s more well-rounded group — one which was firmly in Super Bowl 54 against Kansas City — makes it a hair better than those two.”
This one can be blamed more on Shanahan for the defeat and the questionable play calls when they were up 20-10 until the middle of the fourth quarter.
The offensive approach became too conservative, allowing the Chiefs to regain momentum and eventually take control of the game.
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