The 49ers are trying to shake off their Super Bowl hangover in the second half of the season

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As much as the San Francisco 49ers tried to downplay the curse of the Super Bowl loser before this season, the first half of 2024 looked exactly like that.

A summer dominated by contract disputes. A string of injuries that sidelined many of last season’s top performers. Up and down game from a team that has dominated multiple opponents in 2023.

It all adds up to the 49ers (4-4) heading into their bye week with a .500 record and just fighting for an opportunity to return to the postseason.

San Francisco held on for a 30-24 victory over Dallas, with a dominant third quarter providing the blueprint for what the Niners need to do in the second half of the season to shake off their Super Bowl hangover and get back on track constant since last year. performance.

“I feel like we’re capable of doing everything we set out to do,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I look at where our team is and where I think our team can be and I don’t think we’re there. still. I think there are many things we need to improve. I think we are gradually doing that. But I think we have the guys here capable of doing that. We just have to make sure we become a better team in the second half than we were in the first half.”

Summer contract disputes that kept stars Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk out of training camp and injuries to top players like Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, Javon Hargrave and Talanoa Hufanga made it difficult to get into a rhythm.

The Niners blew 10-point fourth-quarter leads in divisional losses to the Rams and Arizona and fell flat in games against Kansas City and Minnesota. There have been few dominant performances from a team that won four of their first five games last season by at least three scores.

That’s not an unusual situation for a team coming off a Super Bowl loss.

Whether it was wear and tear from extra games, the disappointment of falling just short, or normal regression, teams that lost the Super Bowl often struggled for success the following season.

It’s something the Niners know well after going 6-10 during an injury-plagued 2020 season that followed the team’s first Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. They are one of 14 such teams in the past 35 seasons to miss the playoffs.

In all, only three teams have won the Super Bowl the year after losing it, and the 2018 New England Patriots are the only team to do so in the last 50 seasons. Dallas and Miami did it in back-to-back seasons in 1971-72.

Those Patriots are the only Super Bowl runner-up to even return to the title game the following season, as Buffalo lost four straight trips during the 1990-93 seasons.

The Niners hope they can follow that success, and there are signs from the first half of the season that offer hope. San Francisco has been a much stronger team in the second half of the past two seasons, going 16-2 after the break to fuel deep playoff runs.

Big contributions from the rookie class led by standout right guard Dominick Puni and inspirational wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who provided a big boost when he returned to the field after being shot in the chest a week before the opener, helped improve the team’s depth .

The early return of injured players like McCaffrey and linebacker Dre Greenlaw could take away some of the stars like Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Trent Williams and bring San Francisco back up to par where the team was last. several seasons.

“We have everything in front of us,” Warner said. “We can be whoever we want. We have everyone we need. As for the players, obviously we’re inundated. We’ll be healthy after the week, hopefully get some guys back. It’s just about getting better at this point. We can’t keep going up for a game and then drop one and then, “Oh, let’s try to find a way to win another one.” Let’s get better.”