Path to Super Bowl LX: 49ers are ousted, but some ex-players are still in the mix
SANTA CLARA — They’re throwing the ultimate party at Levi’s Stadium and the 49ers are not invited.
“Just driving in this morning, I was seeing the Super Bowl signs and all the TVs,” 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir as he and his teammates cleaned out their lockers. “This whole season I was telling myself, ‘We’re hosting the Super Bowl. We have to be there.’ It hurts.”
It hurts as much as the 41-6 beating the Seattle Seahawks put on the 49ers Saturday night in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. One of two NFC West rivals, top-seeded Seattle or the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Rams, will represent the conference in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium.
There’s a chance some former 49ers could set foot in their old home, however, and it starts with the Denver Broncos. They’re the top seed in the AFC, unseated longtime division power Kansas City and are coming off a 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills.
They’ll be discounted in some circles without quarterback Bo Nix, instead relying on journeyman Jarrett Stidham in hopes of winning their fourth Super Bowl overall and second at Levi’s, having defeated Carolina 24-10 following the 2015 season.
It’s up to Stidham to be this year’s Jeff Hostetler (New York Giants, Super Bowl XXV) or Nick Foles (Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl LII) and in so doing he’d bring a quartet of 49ers along for the ride. I’ll admit to being a skeptic when Denver dropped big money on safety Talanoa Hufanga (three years, maximum of $45 million) and Dre Greenlaw (three years, maximum of $31.5 million).
Both players did some exceptional things for the 49ers, but neither was durable. Hufanga had played 17 games his previous two seasons and kept getting injured — a torn ACL here, a torn wrist ligament there and various ankle issues and other ailments. Greenlaw, of course, played only one half of football after rupturing his Achilles running onto the field in Super Bowl LIII in Las Vegas.
My personal over/under for the combined number of games the two would play was 20. Turns out it was 25. Hufanga made all 17 starts for the first time since his breakout year in 2022. It was more of the same for Greenlaw, who came into the season with a quad injury and was managed carefully through the season. He played in eight games with seven starts.
Hufanga played 77 of 78 snaps against Buffalo with 10 tackles, while Greenlaw had 31 snaps and four stops. Hufanga didn’t intercept a pass, yet was a second-team All-Pro largely because he became an enforcer in the secondary the Broncos needed. The same went for Greenlaw when healthy enough to play.
If there’s any justice, Greenlaw runs on the field healthy this time in the Super Bowl and plays wire to wire.
Two other Broncos of note spent their formative years with the 49ers — defensive tackle D.J. Jones and offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey. Jones was a part of coach Kyle Shanahan’s first team in 2017 and played for the 49ers through 2021 before signing with Denver. McGlinchey is in his third year with Denver after signing as a free agent and started 17 games.
Here’s a look at other players with 49ers ties or local ties in either high school or college who could be a part of Super LX:
New England Patriots: Craig Woodson (Cal) is a standout rookie who departed temporarily but had 70 snaps and an interception against Houston. Josh Dobbs was a reserve quarterback for the 49ers last season who was none too pleased with being behind Brandon Allen until he got some late-season play in place of an injured Brock Purdy. He backs up Drake Maye. Wide receiver Trent Sherfield was a 49er in 2021 (Shanahan played him in front of Brandon Aiyuk in the 2021 opener to get Aiyuk’s attention) and is on the Patriots’ practice squad.
Los Angeles Rams: Not wishing anything bad on Matthew Stafford, but it would be a heck of a story if backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a 49er from 2017 through 2022, were to get on the field at Levi’s. Garoppolo has started 30 games including the playoffs in Santa Clara and is 20-10. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was a third-round draft pick by the 49ers in 2017 and played four seasons with the 49ers. He’s on injured reserve. Also on the Rams are linebacker Nate Landman (Monte Vista High), tight end Colby Parkinson (Stanford), offensive lineman David Quessenberry (San Jose State) and running back Ronnie Rivers (Freedom High).
Seattle Seahawks: Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold was Brock Purdy’s backup in 2023 and expertly managed the Seahawks’ divisional win over the 49ers. (That’s a good thing, by the way). Backup tight end Eric Saubert played in all 17 games for the 49ers in 2024 backing up George Kittle (11 receptions, 97 yards, one touchdown).
PLAYOFF THOUGHTS
— You watch Josh Allen (Buffalo) and C.J. Stroud (Houston) in the divisional round and wonder how it is the 49ers have such a difficult time taking the ball away.
— I wouldn’t immediately discount Stidham and Denver. When the Raiders benched Derek Carr in 2022, Stidham started against the 49ers and passed for 365 yards, three touchdowns and rushed for 34 yards. And that was a decent 49ers defense.
— Chicago’s Caleb Williams summed up in two plays: a miracle fourth-down, off-the-back-foot 14-yard touchdown to tight end Cole Kmet to tie the game. Then a what-the-hell interception to Kamren Curl in overtime to set the Rams up for victory. Huge game for Curl, who had 13 stops.
NFC matchup
No. 5 L.A. Rams (14-5) at No. 1 Seattle (15-3) (Fox, 3:30 p.m.)
It’s not just a conference championship game, but the battle for supremacy in the NFC West. Darnold had four interceptions as the Rams won at SoFi Stadium 21-19 in Week 11. In Week 16, the Rams blew a 30-14 lead in the fourth quarter and Seattle won 38-37 in overtime on a two-point pass from Darnold to Saubert. Both teams scored a touchdown in overtime.
AFC matchup
No. 2 New England (16-3) at No. 1 Denver (15-3) (CBS, noon)
Second-year quarterback and MVP candidate Maye (he’ll probably lose to Stafford) gets his chance to become join Tony Eason, Drew Bledsoe and some guy named Brady as Super Bowl quarterbacks for the Patriots. Any chance the Broncos have to win with Stidham will have to be accompanied by the defense that had 68 sacks in the regular season.