49ers entering pivotal offseason as Brock Purdy's extension looms - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the San Francisco 49ers trudged to the locker room after another injury- and penalty-plagued loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 16, they bore a striking resemblance to the team that found itself in a deep hole at halftime of last season's NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions.

For the first 30 minutes of the game, the Lions looked poised to stake their claim to the NFC crown while the Niners appeared headed for another postseason disappointment. With their backs against the wall, those 49ers managed to claw their way back from a 17-point deficit by rattling off 27 unanswered points.

Last week, there were no such answers. These 49ers dropped to 6-9 — losing five of their past six games — and were eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2020.

«It's just been not clean football across the board,» quarterback Brock Purdy said. «Last couple of years, we played team football for four quarters, and I felt like we were pretty dominant. This year, it's just been hit or miss.»

The 49ers authored that comeback against the Lions 337 days ago. Detroit (13-2) returns to San Francisco on Monday (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) aiming for the NFC's top seed. And the 49ers, after injuries and a barrage of self-inflicted mistakes derailed their season, are focused on the bigger questions that loom this offseason.

What will a contract extension for Purdy look like? How much will Purdy's deal alter who stays and who goes? Do the 49ers need to say goodbye to some of their own and bring in more fresh faces? Or make a few small tweaks with most of their own returning? Will Kyle Shanahan shake up his coaching staff?

One way or another, change is coming to the 49ers.

«We have been able to