Well, now, that was quite a doozy. The 49ers just got through entertaining us for five full months of thrilling, quality football during one of the all-time most memorable and exotic seasons in franchise history. To commemorate and illustrate an over-the-top season that had a little bit of everything, we bring you the best, worst and most unconventional of the most special 49ers season so far in the 21st century.
Best slip and slide
We start off our annual awards appropriately with a prominent new 49er named Nick Bosa, who had a little fun in mind after sacking Washington quarterback Case Keenum on the final play of San Francisco’s shutout victory in Week 7. Bosa ran with glee toward the sidelines and dove head-first onto his chest on the slick field, sliding in celebration into the quagmire that had become FedExField during a torrential downpour. Several 49ers defenders followed Bosa to the turf, and there you had it after San Francisco’s 9-0 win: A surging San Francisco defense that truly was ready to get down and dirty.
Best collaboration of first-rounders
The investment the 49ers have made in their defensive line may be the No. 1 reason for the team’s remarkable climb to powerhouse status in 2019 after a four-win season. The 49ers have five first-round draft picks on that unit — four of them homegrown — and those five players combined for 35 sacks in the regular season and several more in the postseason. Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas and Dee Ford each had at least one sack in San Francisco’s playoff opener against Minnesota — the first time in NFL history a team had five first-rounders all record sacks in a playoff game.
Best use of extra time
This story is from the February 2020 edition of Niner Report.
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This story is from the February 2020 edition of Niner Report.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
