Blink and you might miss it.
That’s reality of life in the NFL when it comes to Super Bowl windows.
Sure, the elite tier of quarterbacks will always keep their teams in the hunt.
When you have a Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson, you’re always in it.
“The window is my whole career,” as Burrow once famously said.
However, not every team has the rare quarterback who can win, regardless of circumstance, thus windows being slammed shut if not capitalized on in the moment.
See the San Francisco 49’ers.
A team who has been so close in the last half decade, but haven’t been able to close the deal.
In the last five years, the 49’ers have made it to four NFC championships and two Super Bowls.
Both Super Bowl appearances saw them hold a double digit lead against Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, but were unable to hold on, resulting in two excruciating losses.
Now as the roster starts to get older, more expensive and more injured, it’s a fair question to ask if they missed their chance?
Is their Super Bowl window slammed shut? Is it time for a reset?
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One former NFL veteran and current analyst believes that time is now, but that it won’t be as easy as starting with a clean slate.
“Without a doubt with the rest,” Jason Bell told talkSPORT in an exclusive interview.
“It’s hard because that usually comes from the top, right? You have a coach who’s trying to win games, you have your personnel department who is looking at the future, and they’re kind of intertwined as far as San Francisco is concerned.”
Bell points to the head of the snake, the man who has been under the most pressure to win the big one, head coach Kyle Shanahan and the injuries they have suffered as to why the curtain may have finally closed on this iteration of the 49’ers.
“Kyle Shanahan runs that whole thing,” Bell said.
“Their window looks like it’s closed by the looks of the injuries they’re getting.
“This team was difficult because of its personnel. We always talked about it. They win every matchup because they’ve got this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy, and when they’re on the field, who do you stop?
“Well, that’s not the case this year. So next year, when they get back to it, they got some things and decisions they need to make with different contracts.”
Large decisions await Shanahan and general manager, John Lynch, none bigger than quarterback Brock Purdy’s contract.
Once the quarterback gets paid the big contract, the room for error on the rest of the roster shrinks considerably.
Factor in everything San Francisco has had to endure this season, the missed opportunities they’ve had in the last five years, and their Super Bowl window may just be bolted shut.
For the time being, Shanahan, Purdy and the Niners are still – just about in the hunt even with a 6-7 record.
A huge NFC West game against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football is likely to determine their immediate and maybe long term future.
A win will take them level with the 7-6 Rams, trailing just the 8-5 Seattle Seahawks who have an awkward task against the Green Bay Packers.
The window remains open, for now, but the margin for error is tiny.
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