The general rule of thumb is it takes a month into the season to know who an NFL team is. For example, San Francisco beat its first four opponents in 2019 by a combined 70 points. So we didn’t need to wait until midseason to know that year's 49ers team would do damage.
Then, there’s 2020. The 49ers started 2-2 and lost their starting QB, RB, TE, WR, and a slew of defenders during the season's first month. The writing was on the wall.
The 49ers are 2-0 this season. They hung on for dear life in a bizarre game against the Lions and beat a physical Eagles team.