It may not have looked exactly how they wanted it to look, but the San Francisco 49ers secured an important 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10.
There’s plenty for the 49ers to iron out, particularly on special teams where a muffed punt and a trio of missed field goals changed the tenor of Sunday’s game. However, their victory was crucial for keeping pace in the NFC West and NFC playoff races.
A good illustrator of just how important their Week 10 win was comes via the USA TODAY NFL power rankings. San Francisco entered the week at No. 16, but finished at No. 11, one spot behind the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals.
While they didn’t play their best football in Week 10, there are reasons to believe better play is coming given their post-Bye history under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Via USA TODAY’s Nate Davis:
Their post-bye record in 2024 (with RB Christian McCaffrey) is 1-0. Their post-bye record since 2021 is 31-9.
This is a nice stat that should provide some optimism for 49ers fans. However, the 2024 season hasn’t been great through 10 weeks and the team hasn’t shown the ability to flip a switch and dominate a game for 60 minutes.
Cutting down on self-inflicted wounds could quickly set the 49ers up as a Super Bowl contender once again. If they continue making those mistakes, they won’t be a team hanging around the top 10 much longer with games coming up against NFC West rival Seattle, the No. 9 Green Bay Packers and No. 4 Buffalo Bills.
If the 49ers are going to be a contender this year, they’ll have to prove it in this stretch.
