Former NFL defensive end Marcus Spears believes the 49ers' Super Bowl window has closed.
The current ESPN analyst explained that there are too many other good teams in the NFC now, meaning San Francisco no longer is the perennial favorite to win the conference.
“Based on what we’ve known San Francisco to be,” Spears said on ESPN’s “NFL Live” on Tuesday. “Watching them go to NFC Championship after NFC Championship, Super Bowls. The window is closed. And the window isn’t closed because they can’t compete. The window is closed, [Jason McCourty], because of what you said. It’s [that] more people have entered the fray, and they are no longer the team to beat in the NFC.”
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SIGN UP HERE "It's more people that have entered the fray, and they are no longer the team to beat in the NFC."@mspears96 spoke on the 49ers having less "cachet" heading into this season 😯 pic.twitter.com/CjnhmCRE3X
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 29, 2025
During San Francisco’s dominant run, which included four NFC title game appearances and two Super Bowl appearances in six years, the team had an air of inevitability around it. Now, in the minds of Spears and other analysts, the 49ers will have a much harder time making it through the conference's gauntlet of teams.
“San Francisco is going to be formidable in the NFC,” Spears explained. “But, San Francisco is not going to carry the same cache that they’ve been carrying since we’ve been doing this job the past five-to-six years coming into the season. And it’s not only because of what [the Philadelphia Eagles] have done, which is the team to beat in the NFC.
“It’s because more fighters have entered the fray. When you’re staring at one man, it’s a little bit easier than when you start staring at six or seven.”
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Injuries and sloppy play plagued San Francisco last season, dooming them to a middling 6-11 record. Considering the mass exodus of veterans in free agency, the 49ers are banking on another strong draft class to bolster their defense.
Still, with Brock Purdy in line for a massive pay raise, the franchise has limited options for bringing in impact players. Between the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, the up-and-coming Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions, the road back to playoff glory is perilous.