Matt Barrows

The day seems brighter. The air seems sweeter. The birds are chirping a little louder. For fans, everything seems to have an after--win-like glow following Sunday’s rout of those dastardly and their fans (see below). Thanks for all the great questions this week, including the latest transactions and queries on and and many players in between. As usual, questions have been slightly modified for content (usually adding a player’s first or last name). It seems to me that has never been happier…

Neither the nor seem all that worried about the calf injury that kept McCaffrey on the sideline in the second half of Sunday’s 27-10 win over the . But don’t expect to see the running back — and perhaps a handful of other veterans — in Sunday’s regular-season finale. The 49ers’ win coupled with a surprise loss guaranteed , which means there won’t be much to play for against the . And that likely will give McCaffrey time — long overdue time, according to many fretful fans — to watch and heal f…

exited Sunday’s 27-10 win over the early in the third quarter, but the still dominated on the ground. They ran the ball 39 times for 184 yards and controlled the clock for 38:13. The only games this season in which they were better in any of those categories: • They rushed for 188 yards in Week 1 against the . • They held the ball for 39:10 in Week 3 against the . • They had 41 rushes in Week 5 against the . Advertisement The result was a quick game — it was over in 2:44 — and light work, espe…

There’s still one more regular-season game to play, but everyone’s eyes are squarely on the playoffs. And who can blame us with a meaningless game on Sunday? The are locked into the No. 1 seed while the will either be the No. 6 or 7 seed depending on the outcome of the 49ers game and that of the – game. . Thanks for all your great mailbag questions, which as usual have been slightly edited for length and clarity. Happy New Year, one and all! Advertisement With the 49ers resting starters on Sun…

The lead the with nine players named to the 2024 Pro Bowl rosters announced Wednesday. Quarterback and cornerback are first-time Pro Bowlers while wide receiver was named an alternate. Including Aiyuk, 12 alternates stem from San Francisco. The NFC Pro Bowl quarterback selections also include starter and veteran , while the AFC boasts QB , QB and QB . QB , QB and QB were notable Pro Bowl snubs. Advertisement , the Rams star defensive tackle, made history with his selection, beco…

The are in the playoffs for the third straight season, but as every fan knows by now, that doesn’t mean they are immune to upheaval on their coaching staff. Or in their front office. Here’s the latest news and some of the ramifications should assistant general manager Adam Peters or defensive coordinator Steve Wilks land jobs elsewhere during this hiring cycle … • For the past few years, 49ers fans have been operating under the assumption — or maybe under the wishful thinking — that Peters was…

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The had a bye during the opening round of the playoffs, but that didn’t mean had the weekend off. The team’s fullback went into action after his wife, Kristin, managed to meld three massive newsmakers — Taylor Swift, the and the winter storms that were walloping the nation — when Swift confidently strode into Kansas City’s frozen Arrowhead Stadium wearing a jacket Kristin had made. Swift and her legion of followers wield tremendous influence and can make social media sit…

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — During his drive to work Tuesday, head groundskeeper Matt Greiner called up his good friend and counterpart Travis Hogan. The message: Bravo! Arrowhead Stadium had just hosted a game with a minus-30-degree wind chill — a massive storyline heading into the contest — but the field and footing were nonfactors. Advertisement “It didn’t look like Augusta National — far from it,” Greiner said this week. “But to have the footing the way it was with those conditions and those tem…

. The will not alter this week’s practice schedule, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday at the Super Bowl’s opening night media event. The team had been weighing its options after arriving in Las Vegas to find the surfaces at UNLV far softer than expected. “I’m not worried about it at all,” Shanahan said. “It is what it is. We’re here. We won’t change anything.” Advertisement The university has a pair of artificial surface fields that last week were overlaid with natural grass. But because there wa…

Kyle Shanahan said he’d look inside and outside of headquarters to find the replacement for Steve Wilks, who he after one season as the team’s defensive coordinator. Wilks had two challenges when he arrived last year. He was asked to coach a scheme he wasn’t familiar with. And his background is with cornerbacks whereas the 49ers’ system has put its emphasis on the front seven defenders. “I just think it has to do with the way we play linebacker and stuff like that,” Shanahan said. “And the way…