Niners one of three teams still unbeaten in the NFL

It’s a truism in the NFL. The last four games in the season are more important than the first four.  But when a team has won the first four, without a defeat, nobody is thinking about comments, only victories.

A month into the 2026 NFL season, only three of the 32 teams remain undefeated: Kansas City, Minnesota — and isn’t that a surprise? — and, last but not least, the San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners kept things perfect Sunday, if with a struggle, defeating the Denver Broncos 24-14 at Levi's Stadium in a temperature announced at  87 degrees that had some people sweating because for only the second time this season San Francisco trailed early on.

That the KC Chiefs and the Niners were opponents two Super Bowls past may be of significance, or the way things change in Pro Football, maybe not.

The task surely gets tougher for the Niners, beginning Sunday when they play the Super Bowl champion, Seahawks, in Seattle. But let us accept what has taken place and find what little joy is possible in October.

The win was also the 95th victory for Kyle Shanahan as Niners coach, one more than the late Bill Walsh.  

“It makes me feel old,” said Shanahan, who is only 46. “But we have accomplished a lot.” What Shanahan, in his 10th season in charge of the 49ers, hasn’t yet accomplished is winning a Super Bowl, but we’ll have to be patient.

What Shanahan has been is persistent. And other than taking the big one, successful. Who knows where San Francisco will end up this year, but the Niners, without a defeat in their first four games, certainly have gone in the right direction. The offensive line has been outstanding, not giving up a single sack. The quarterback, yes Brock Purdy, has taken charge and made the plays. The defense showed proper toughness and resilience Sunday against the Broncos.

You are familiar, of course, with the quote “on any given Sunday.”

With a 17-game schedule and travel to places as distant as Brazil, Australia, and Europe, it’s a given that good teams are going to lose, and bad teams are going to win, if not consistently.

A week ago, the Broncos overcame a late deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Rams. Then Sunday the Rams seemed to have escaped their failing and beat the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.

So all you can do is observe and comment. 

The Niners trailed 3-0 in the first quarter and were only tied 3-3 at the half. After halftime, the Niners' offense looked more like expected. Purdy threw a 1-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey ran for a touchdown, and then Purdy connected with George Kittle for a 56-yard touchdown.

Said Shanahan, “I thought the game would be a head knocker and it was. We wanted to run the ball a lot.”

The Niners rushed the ball 35 times for 140 yards and completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 218 more yards. If that isn’t old-fashioned ball control football, it will have to do until something else comes along.