ESPN gives 49ers, Bears, Patriots best chance of biggest turnaround

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ESPN gives 49ers, Bears, Patriots best chance of biggest turnaround

Douglas Fritz · ClutchPoints

Thu, Jun 5, 2025 ·

3 min read

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The post ESPN gives 49ers, Bears, Patriots best chance of biggest turnaround appeared first on ClutchPoints .

The hits keep coming for the San Francisco 49ers , who got positive injury updates for Christian McCaffrey and offensive tackle Trent Williams . Also, ESPN gave the 49ers the best chance of a turnaround along with the Bears and Patriots .

The 49ers were tabbed as the team most likely to go from worst to first in the 2025 season. They finished 6-11 in 2024 and have a 35.8% chance of winning the NFC West, according to espn.com.

"The 49ers have by far the best odds to go from worst to first for three main reasons: schedule, health, and they weren't really that bad last season," Aaron Schatz wrote. " San Francisco finished the 2024 season ranked ninth in FPI. DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) ratings at FTN didn't have the 49ers quite that high, but they were still 14th despite a losing record. Their DVOA of 6.7% was easily the best ever by an 11-loss team, going all the way back to 1978."

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan has plenty of talent on roster

San Francisco isn't hurting for star-level players. They just need some guys to get healthy. McCaffrey, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk , and Williams are all coming off injuries.

"The 49ers led the NFL in adjusted games lost to injury," Schatz wrote. "That's a clear indicator for improvement in 2025."

Also, the 49ers have the league's easiest schedule. It doesn't always work out that way in the long run, but the 49ers have a chance to make hay.

Shanahan said he understood that guys weren't ready to come back after the long season in 2023 and the heartbreaking finish , according to a post on X by KNBR.

"I understood that, but I told them how I won't really understand it this year," Shanahan said. "Not that is was right or wrong. But I couldn't comprehend that we were off five weeks earlier. We all know how disappointed we are. And a lot of us have played a lot of football here.

"The first meeting, when we get back, I expect our whole team to be here. And for it to be important to guys. I thought the coolest thing was everyone being there the first day."

Bears tabbed as another turnaround team

Schatz said he views the Bears as an above-average team in 2025.

"That's because Caleb Williams should improve in his second year under center, and the Bears added a lot of talent on the offensive line to give him better protection," Schatz wrote. "There's also a lot of optimism about new coach Ben Johnson, but it's important to remember that teams with new coaches and coordinators tend to take a small step back in the first season."

Schatz added that the Bears have a much tougher schedule than the 49ers, ranking as the second toughest in the league. That's thanks in part to a very tough division.

Patriots could be in a better mix this year

It starts at the quarterback position, according to Schatz.

"ESPN's stats believe in Drake Maye,": Schatz wrote. "He finished 17th among qualifying quarterbacks with a 58.6 QBR in 2024, as QBR attempts to separate the quarterback from his surroundings.

"The surroundings are supposed to be better this season, but how much better are they? There are a lot of new faces in New England , which starts with an improvement at head coach in Mike Vrabel."

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