San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers enjoyed a side of schadenfreude with their breakfast while watching the rival Seattle Seahawks lose the first NFL game ever played in Germany.

With the Seahawks faltering against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NFC West opened wide for the Niners to make their run, starting with Sunday's performance against the Los Angeles Chargers.

San Francisco emerged victorious by the score of 22-16 at Levi's Stadium. The win has the 49ers just a half-game behind the Seahawks, and San Francisco has the advantage in division record and head-to-head record.

"I was proud of our team today," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the contest. "I want to play better, blow people out and score every time we go. But those are the type of games [the Chargers] are really good at winning. … We still found a way to win."

Shanahan's squad sandwiched a pair of wins around its bye to get back into the race. The team knew how important it was to play good football coming out of its week off.

"I feel that there's a couple things we’ve done the last few weeks where I feel that's going the right direction offensively," Shanahan said following the 49ers' win against the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago. "We’ve had to overcome some injuries on defense but to get this win right now, get into the bye, those guys have earned it.

"Hopefully they can get healthier, get some guys back and definitely put ourselves in a much better position to come back and try to make a run at this."

To the coach's first point, the implementation of all the offensive weapons is difficult. How to spread the ball and make sure all of the team's talented options get touches can be a tricky balance.

Interestingly, Elijah Mitchell led the way with 19 total touches. Christian McCaffrey finished one behind his backfield mate. Deebo Samuel had more rushing attempts (four) than catches (two). Brandon Aiyuk finished as the team's leading receiver with six catches for 84 yards.

Conversely, all-world tight end George Kittle caught only one pass for 21 yards.

“We have a very unselfish team," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. "Everybody [fans] is about individual stats with fantasy owners out there. But we have a team, man. Guys don’t care if we get 10 targets or one target. A 'W' is a 'W.'"

The amount of talent just described shows how deep the 49ers offense is. More importantly, the type of talent featured brings a multifaceted approach to every contest. San Francisco can use the same personnel each game yet deploy differently against every opponent.

McCaffrey is just as effective as a receiver. Samuel has showed how dangerous he can be working out of the backfield. Kittle is a weapon, whether he's lining up inline or out wide. The possibilities with this entire group are endless, but expansive usage of the complete playbook takes time after absorbing a talent like McCaffrey shortly before the trade deadline. Garoppolo simply needs to act as a facilitator.

As Shanahan hoped, the 49ers are trending in the right direction offensively. During the team's two-game winning streak, San Francisco posted 368 and 387 offensive yards, respectively. The Rams and Chargers may not be playing as well as expected but both feature legitimate difference-makers on the defensive side of the ball. The Niners are nearly at full strength and look the part.

The returns of Mitchell (knee), Samuel (hamstring), fellow wide receiver Jauan Jennings (hamstring) and fullback Kyle Juszczyk (finger) from injuries provided a significant boost. In fact, the first three contributed 180 yards from scrimmage Sunday.

"It's just so crazy how much firepower we have in this offense now with adding [McCaffrey] to the team along with all the other guys that we've got," Samuel said Friday. "It's gonna get crazy. It's gonna be hard to cover everybody out there, and it should be real fun."

As such, a 13-3 second-quarter deficit with a very talented quarterback in Justin Herbert on the opposite sideline didn't feel like an insurmountable task. San Francisco scored 12 unanswered second-half points to claim the victory.

"I love seeing that," Shanahan mentioned. "I know our numbers were bad on that and it’s cool. Didn’t feel like huge comeback win. … I almost treated it like 0-0 game all the way to the end, and it kind of was, with a one-score game all game."

The Niners didn't suffer any in-game injuries Sunday, per KNBR's Jake Hutchinson. Defensive reinforcements should be on their way as well.

Lineman Arik Armstead (foot, ankle) and edge-rusher Samson Ebukam (quadriceps) could return at any point in the next few weeks to provide some juice up front for an already elite defense.

San Francisco features difference-makers at all three levels. Nick Bosa is a game-wrecker. The defensive end registered four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and a sack against the Chargers' makeshift offensive line. Fred Warner is the game's best middle linebacker. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the 49ers defense has allowed the fewest attempts, completions and yardage to the middle third of the field since drafting Warner in 2018. At safety, Talanoa Hufanga has blossomed in his second season. He's a heat-seeking missile as a tackler yet presents outstanding ball skills, including the game-ending interception Sunday.

Complementary football will go a long way for the 49ers since they don't feature a top-end starter behind center. With all the weapons now found on offense paired with the game's No. 1 defense, San Francisco should make a strong push through the rest of the regular season with the capabilities to surpass the Seahawks and claim the NFC West title.

Much like San Francisco, Seattle is playing sound football. But the Seahawks aren't quite as versatile on offense, and their defense isn't anywhere near the same level.

Besides, the 49ers have a favorable schedule. Beyond playing in Seattle during Thursday Night Football on Dec. 15, San Francisco's remaining lineup includes the scatterbrained Arizona Cardinals (twice), a New Orleans Saints team that's lost four of its last five, the NFC East bottom-dwelling Washington Commanders and a Las Vegas Raiders squad that might crawl into a black hole and never reemerge after losing to the Indianapolis Colts six days after the franchise named Jeff Saturday its interim head coach.

Early December contests against the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will serve as litmus tests for how good the 49ers really are. However, both games will be played in the Bay Area.

But first, the 49ers play the Cardinals in Mexico City for Week 11's Monday Night Football. A win would put the Niners in first place in the division, and they might not look back after that.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.

The San Francisco 49ers are not the type of team that will light up the scoreboard, so it's imperative that the defense plays at an elite level for the team to be successful.

The 49ers defense did just that in a 22-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. The Chargers were limited to 238 yards of total offense and failed to score any points in the second half.

San Francisco was led by a dominant showing from star defensive end Nick Bosa, who finished with four tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss. Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw tied for the team lead with seven tackles apiece. Jordan Willis and Charles Omenihu also registered a sack. Talanoa Hufanga sealed the game with an interception on Los Angeles' final drive.

NFL Twitter was impressed with what it saw from Bosa and the rest of the San Francisco defense on Sunday:

Since allowing a 44-point outburst by the Kansas City Chiefs in a Week 7 loss, the 49ers have held their opponents to under 20 points in each of their last two games. San Francisco will need to continue playing at a high level as the push for the playoffs approaches, and the team will benefit from not having a true road game in the next four weeks.

The 49ers will look to keep the momentum going when they take on the Arizona Cardinals next week in Mexico City on Monday Night Football.

NFL executives predicted the Buffalo Bills against the San Francisco 49ers as the most likely Super Bowl matchup in a midseason poll.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Tuesday there was also support for the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC, but the Bills and Niners garnered the most votes from their respective conferences.

"Battle-tested and explosive playmaking on both sides of the ball," an NFL personnel director said about San Francisco.

An AFC exec added about Buffalo: "This feels like their time."

The Bills were on cruise control for much of the first two months, going 6-1 with several blowout victories, but their outlook is less certain after Sunday's loss to the New York Jets that saw quarterback Josh Allen suffer an elbow injury.

If Allen, one of the MVP front-runners, misses an extended period of time, Buffalo is likely to lose its status as the Super Bowl favorite.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Monday the quarterback is being evaluated for injuries to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and the related nerves.

"We're just going through it, still evaluating it, and we'll see where it goes," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. "I'll know more in the next 24 hours and then probably be able to check in with [the media] back on Wednesday."

At full strength, the Bills have a strong case as the NFL's most complete team, ranking first in total offense (416.4 yards per game) and fourth in total defense (299.6 yards allowed per game).

Meanwhile, the 49ers are still seeking top form after a 4-4 start, but the addition of running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers ahead of the trade deadline was the type of splash a team makes when it's seriously chasing a title.

The combination of McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel is a nightmare for opposing defenses, and the Niners also feature wideout Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle among the targets at the disposal of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

San Francisco doesn't have a ton of margin for error. It currently sits seventh in the NFC, which is the final wild-card slot, and it has the 11th-toughest remaining schedule in the league, according to ESPN's Football Power Index.

In terms of upside, however, there aren't many teams with more potential heading into the second half of the regular season than the Niners.

Both Buffalo and San Francisco are next in action Sunday, when the Bills host the Minnesota Vikings (7-1) and the 49ers take on the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3).

The San Francisco 49ers could be a landing spot for free-agent receiver Odell Beckham Jr. when he is healthy.

"Look, we never say no," general manager John Lynch said of adding Beckham, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. "We're always looking to get better. And it's a rarity when you have a player of that ilk and some other names out there that still might be available. And we always will look."

Beckham has gone unsigned since tearing his ACL in the Super Bowl last year, although he has been a target of nearly every contender heading into the stretch run of the season.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan also told KNBR last week he has "always been a fan of Odell."

ESPN's Adam Schefter recently listed the 49ers as a possible landing spot on The Pat McAfee Show:

Of course, there will be plenty of competition for Beckham, who scored five touchdowns in eight games with the Los Angeles Rams last season. He added 288 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the postseason on the way to a Super Bowl title.

In early October, he indicated on Twitter his choices were likely Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.

It could be tough for the 49ers to beat out this group, especially after already trading for versatile running back Christian McCaffrey.

"How many footballs are we going to play with?" Lynch joked. "I'm thinking of all the weapons we've already talked about."

Lynch also indicated the team doesn't need to do much to compete after the 4-4 start.

"We like our team as it’s constructed right now," he added.

The 49ers sit one game behind the Seahawks for the NFC West lead, but a 3-0 division record puts them in good position heading into the second half of the year, even without Beckham.

Former San Francisco 49ers general manager John McVay, who won five Super Bowls during his tenure with the team, died Monday at the age of 91.

The 49ers released a statement:

"This is a very sad day for our organization and the entire football community. John McVay was a driving force in constructing teams for our five Super Bowl titles. Most importantly, John was a Hall of Fame person who built genuine and sincere relationships with front office staff, coaches and players. John's commitment and contributions to the 49ers created the standard and tradition we strive to carry on today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the McVay family."

McVay, who is the grandfather of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, joined the 49ers organization in 1979 after two-plus seasons as the New York Giants' head coach. He worked for the team from 1979 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2003.

Per the 49ers, his various titles over the years included "Vice President and General Manager, Director of Player Personnel, Director of Football Operations, Vice President for Football Administration, Administrative Vice President and Assistant to the President."

The 49ers won Super Bowls to cap the 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989 and 1994 seasons while McVay worked in the front office. McVay also won The Sporting News' NFL Executive of the Year award in 1989.

He worked as a high school and college coach from 1953 to 1972. He notably led the University of Dayton Flyers from 1965 to 1972 before moving onto the World Football League's Memphis Southmen in 1974.

Two years later, he joined the Giants as an assistant before being promoted to head coach midway through the 1976 campaign.

Condolences and remembrances poured in after news of McVay's death.

McVay is also a member of the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. 49ers Hall of Fame, and the team's draft room is named after him in his honor.

The Miami Dolphins are acquiring running back Jeff Wilson from the San Francisco 49ers for a 2023 fifth-round draft pick, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Wilson effectively replaces Chase Edmonds, who was included in the outgoing package the Dolphins sent to the Denver Broncos for Bradley Chubb, per Schefter.

Wilson has run for 468 yards and two touchdowns through eight games. He did well as San Francisco's primary ball-carrier following Elijah Mitchell's MCL sprain.

Mitchell should return at some point, and the arrival of Christian McCaffrey made Wilson expendable. Still, it's somewhat surprising the Niners couldn't get more than a fifth-rounder for the 26-year-old.

In Miami, Wilson will reunite with former teammate Raheem Mostert and Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who coached him for four seasons in San Francisco. That should help him adjust to his new surroundings.

As a backup to Mostert, Wilson is an upgrade over Edmonds, who was averaging 2.9 yards per carry, and that could mean a more equal split in the backfield. Mostert (101) had more than double the carries of Edmonds (42), a gulf that may not carry over to the new-look running game.

Trading for Tyreek Hill was a sign of the Dolphins' ambitions heading into the season, and that belief was well founded with the team in the thick of the AFC playoff hunt.

Dealing for Chubb and Wilson on trade deadline day represents Miami's attempt to fortify its ranks for the second half.

Having already added Christian McCaffrey in a trade, Kyle Shanahan isn't dismissing the possibility of the San Francisco 49ers adding more talent before the end of the season.

During his weekly appearance on KNBR's Murph & Mac Show, Shanahan said the Niners are "open to discussions with everybody" when asked about the rumors connecting the Niners to Odell Beckham Jr.

"We look into everything," Shanahan added. "You don't have to worry about the trade deadline with him because he's out there and he's available. I've always been a fan of Odell, like I feel like most people are. He's that good of a player. But I'm definitely very happy with our receiver group right now and love the receivers that we have."

On Monday's edition of The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN's Adam Schefter didn't dismiss the possibility of San Francisco making a play for Beckham.

Beckham has been linked to the 49ers in the past, even before last season when he was deciding on a new team following his release from the Cleveland Browns.

Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports reported in March 2019 that San Francisco was among the teams Beckham would prefer to be traded to as the New York Giants were figuring out where to send the three-time Pro Bowler.

The Los Angeles Rams won the Beckham sweepstakes when he signed a one-year deal in November 2021. He was a huge difference-maker during their playoff run, most notably in the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers when he had 113 yards on nine receptions.

Beckham tore his ACL in the second quarter of the Rams' 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56. He is still rehabbing the injury and it's unclear when he will be cleared to play.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported last month that NFL insiders believe Beckham might not receive clearance until December, but it could happen at some point in November.

Howe also reported the Rams, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are among the teams that could have the most serious interest in Beckham.

The 49ers don't really have a need at wide receiver unless they want insurance to protect against injuries. Deebo Samuel sat out Sunday's win over the Rams with a hamstring injury.

A healthy Samuel, McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle are an excellent group of pass-catchers.

Beckham would be more of a luxury item for San Francisco rather than filling a need, but a team with Super Bowl aspirations this season might look to make an aggressive move to potentially put itself over the top.

Suffice it to say Christian McCaffrey is happy in San Francisco.

The 49ers running back had touchdowns as a runner, a receiver and a passer in Sunday's 31-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams and seemed freed by exiting Carolina's moribund attack.

“I can’t even put into words how happy I am,” McCaffrey told Peter King of NBC Sports. “It’s a crazy journey in the NFL. You see this stuff happen and you never think it’ll happen to you. But it has. I’m glad it did.”

McCaffrey finished with 149 total yards on 26 touches while adding a 34-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk in the second quarter. He was directly responsible for nearly half of the 49ers' 368 total yards—the exact type of performance the team envisioned when trading four future draft picks for the versatile running back.

As noted by King, McCaffrey was the fourth player since the AFL-NFL merger to rush, receive and throw a touchdown pass.

“It feels good. Really good. It’s a cool stat, but there’s a bigger stat. The win," McCaffrey said. "To be able to go into a winning locker room, with great players, on a new team with so many guys who can make plays, it’s just exciting.”