In terms of the defense and offense, I know a lot of people might point to the first half of 2019 when we were 8-0 and were beating teams like 52-13, 31-3, etc. However, I think I would lean more towards the end of 2022 when we had CMC and Purdy together for the first time. Remember, towards the end of that season, our defense had some cracks when it came to covering players on deep throws. For the first time in the Kyle Shanahan era, it was starting to look like our offense was at least up to par, or even better than the defense. The Raiders game last year is a prime example of this, where our offense stepped up when the defense had a down game. We rarely saw that with Jimmy G’s offenses, outside of the 2019 Saints game.

In terms of our defense, I think potentially I’d go with the 2nd half of 2021 when we went on that run to get into the playoffs at 10-7. That season, DeMeco Ryans struggled a lot in the beginning where he had a lot of bad games. Examples include the opener when the Lions almost came back, the 37 second game, the monsoon game, and the Colt McCoy game. But at the 2nd half of the season, the defense looked much more deadly and I’d say that the signature win of that defense came in that playoff run in 2021, when we only allowed 10 points on the Packers at Lambeau Field. A-Rod was the MVP that season, and the defense for 53 minutes only allowed 3 points after Green Bay’s opening drive touchdown. That was a masterclass.

What would you guys say was the peak of both sides of the ball since 2019?