SANTA CLARA — Maybe Christmas night will be when we find out if the 49ers are up to the task of gritting out a difficult win against high-quality opposition.
Based on what the 49ers have shown us so far in 2023, it’s more likely they’ll dispatch the Baltimore Ravens with the kind of precision and execution they’ve displayed in previous games where it appeared they were in for a down-to-the-wire battle.
It’s clear the 49ers (11-3) have a healthy respect for Baltimore (11-3), which at the moment is also the top seed in its conference and bidding to get a first-round bye and then home-field advantage until Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
They could conceivably meet again there.
The 49ers also had a healthy respect for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their regular season opener on the road . . .
Final: 49ers 30, Steelers 7
Significance: Pittsburgh is 7-7 now, but is very tough at home and there’s an element of unknown with any opener. It was one of the 49ers’ most complete openers in memory.
They had a healthy respect for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5 . . .
Final: 49ers 40, Cowboys 12
Significance: The 49ers knocked Dallas out of the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, and last year’s divisional game was a tough one at 19-12. The blowout came on a national Sunday night stage.
They had a healthy respect for the Jacksonville Jaguars coming off a bye in Week 10 . . .
Final: 49ers 34, Jaguars 3
Significance: The 49ers were coming off a three-game losing streak and a much-needed by after coach Kyle Shanahan said they looked “slow and tired.” It was supposed to be a coming-of-age game for the Jaguars, proving they could be a potential Super Bowl contender in the AFC.
They had a healthy respect for the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13 . . .
Final: 49ers 42, Eagles 19
Significance: The 49ers actually punted on their first two possessions, then scored touchdowns the next seven times they had the ball. You could make the argument that the Eagles, 10-1 at the time, still haven’t recovered.
That’s a 146-41 margin against four teams who are currently 35-21 and still in the playoff hunt, or an average score of approximately 37-10 in a league which prides itself on parity.
In every instance following the game, coaches Mike Tomlin of Pittsburgh, Mike McCarthy of Dallas, Doug Pederson of Jacksonville and Nick Sirianni of Philadelphia gave some variation of shock and awe while acknowledging they’d have to respond to being punched in the mouth.
In each instance, the 49ers were quicker, stronger, smarter and better coached. They ran the ball 133 times for 648 yards at 4.9 yards per carry and gave up 64 rushes for 245 yards and 3.9. Christian McCaffrey accounted for 391 yards rushing and another 93 receiving and scored three touchdowns.
As good as Brock Purdy has been all season, he was in another stratosphere in the four wins, completing 69.8 percent (74-for-106) of his passes for 1,082 yards, 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s an aggregate passer rating of 142.4 where the highest figure attainable is 158.3.
The 49ers were plus-8 in turnovers over the four games and had a 17-9 advantage in sacks. They had a 21-3 margin after the opening possession for each team and ran up a 68-13 advantage in the first halves of those games and finished it off with 77-18 in the second half.
Edge rusher Nick Bosa acknowledged the dominance but at the same time wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“A challenge always brings out the best in good teams,” Bosa said Thursday. “We try to bring out the same intensity every week though. Every win matters. I can’t tell you exactly why, but it’s definitely a big matchup and we’ll be ready.”
The 49ers started poorly each of the previous two seasons and needed to secure important wins down the stretch to make the playoffs and eventually the NFC title game, so coach Kyle Shanahan believes the players know how to react in big games.
“I think we’ve got a bunch of people who have been in a ton of big games,” Shanahan said. “They’re not guys that we’ve got to spend a lot of time motivating them and asking them to do their job. They completely understand their situation, understand what their job is and understand the magnitude of each week.
“I think people that come in here from new places and even rookies get that vibe pretty fast from the group.”
Linebacker Fred Warner resisted the idea that the 49ers are a “rise to the occasion” team because it runs counter to their process of preparation and taking each week as a separate entity.
“I feel this has been a buildup all season long of those little things, those little details we’ve worked on all season long,” Warner said. “We’re doing what’s required of us. The season doesn’t start until November-December and we’ve got to make sure we’re playing our best football right now because this is when the games matter most.”
Which is the best way to look at it of course, right up to the point where another contender takes it on the chin.