Archive • Route 49 • Buttondown

The 49ers Built Their Own Chaos Defense

October 15, 2026

Five games in, the 49ers defense is 3rd in EPA per play, 4th in scoring, and off to the 7th-best DVOA start in history. And the true starting defense has...

Go Marlin Fishing

October 15, 2026

The argument in 49ers country is whether Jauan Jennings should come back. The only question that matters is who pays. He has 2 catches for 9 yards on a 5-0...

Consider yourselves warned

October 13, 2026

Route 49 — Monday night special Tonight's featured story is our own. What John Lynch Saw in the Dark Under the confidentiality rules of an integration...

Route 49: Supersize the order, Mykel Williams is back, and 4-0 meets Seattle

October 10, 2026

From the Take desk Supersize the 49ers to Break the McDonalds Defense — Anthony Nagatani John Schneider spent three years building a defense for one purpose:...

Hashtag MVPurdy

October 8, 2026

Aloha, Brock Purdy is the MVP frontrunner and it's not particularly close. That's the new Take on Essential49ers today: the numbers (126.2 rating, zero...

Route 49 #1: The League That Sells Beer Fined a Man for Pretending to Drink Juice

October 7, 2026

Welcome to Route 49, the Essential 49ers newsletter. Seven curated 49ers stories every morning, plus the occasional editorial from me. It's free. The league...