The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the NFL's most pleasant surprises this season, as they are 10-2 and are in great position to potentially snag a first-round bye in the NFC.
Yes, the Seattle Seahawks (who are also 10-2) have leapfrogged the 49ers in the NFC West due to holding the tiebreaker, but the 49ers have four weeks left to reclaim their top spot (although Seattle is tough).
Many people anticipated that San Francisco would show some improvement this season, but I'm not sure even the most diehard Niners fan was expecting this.
The 49ers seem to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders, thanks much in part to a nasty defense and a running game that has been among the league's best this year.
But can San Francisco match up with clubs like the Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs?
Here are four keys to a Niners Super Bowl run:
4. A more efficient Tevin Coleman
Asking for more from the 49ers' ground attack may seem a bit nitpicky, but just imagine how good the team can be if their running game was even better?
While Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert are both averaging at least five yards per carry, Tevin Coleman is straggling behind at 3.8 yards per attempt.
San Francisco uses all three halfbacks regularly, so it would be nice if Coleman could be a bit more efficient. He is certainly capable of it, as he registered 4.8 yards per attempt with the Atlanta Falcons last year.
Coleman also has not been an incredibly reliable receiving threat (27 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown), so it would definitely behoove him to make more out of his carries.
3. A dominant George Kittle
George Kittle has remained one of the NFL's best tight ends this season, catching 67 passes for 683 yards and three scores, but he has not been quite as good as his record-breaking 2018 campaign.
Of course, Kittle has missed a couple of games with injuries, which has certainly played a factor, but even when he has been healthy, he has only been really, really good instead of great.
With the 49ers lacking elite receiving talent overall, Kyle Shanahan really needs Kittle to emerge as a monster in the playoffs and replicate what he did last year.
It might be a lot to ask, and it may be a bit unfair to place all of this burden on Kittle's shoulders, but San Francisco needs to have a consistent, elite pass-catching weapon in the postseason if it truly wants to make a playoff run to compensate for its dearth of top-end offensive talent.
2. A stronger run defense
While the Niners own the NFL's top-ranked defense overall, they actually have not been too great at defending the run.
Believe it or not, the 49ers rank 22nd in the league in run defense, which certainly comes as a fairly big surprise given how dominant they have been as a defense overall (it just tells you how good their pass defense has been).
San Francisco is allowing 116.7 rushing yards per game, and given the fact that the Niners may be going up against running backs like Alvin Kamara, Chris Carson and Aaron Jones in the playoffs, that could be a pretty big problem.
The question is whether or not the 49ers have the personnel required to actually stuff the run, and judging by how inefficient they have been in trying to accomplish that task this season, it seems fair to say that they may not.
Still, depending on their opponent, San Francisco may have to employ certain schemes defensively to prepare for the run, or else the Niners may end up losing a playoff game.
1. A more consistent Jimmy Garoppolo
The main concern with the 49ers all season long has been Jimmy Garoppolo.
He has certainly had some great moments, like his 317-yard, four-touchdown effort in a win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9 and a 424-yard, four-touchdown outing (as well as a couple of interceptions) against the Cardinals a couple of weeks later.
But Garoppolo has been more of a game manager than anything else for most of this year.
It also doesn't look too great that both of his best games came against a brutal Arizona defense.
The jury is largely out on Garoppolo, who is just over a year removed from a torn ACL and has never started a playoff game in his career, so we really don't know how effective he will be in the postsesaon.
Make no mistake: as strong as the 49ers' defense is, San Francisco cannot get by without some big-time performances from Garoppolo in the playoffs.
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