Do you consider the 49ers contenders or pretenders thus far?

The San Francisco 49ers are...well...they don’t stink right now. This is certainly a welcome change from the last few years where they have either A: won the opener and proceeded to go into the tank or B: didn’t waste time and went straight down in Week 1.

We already talked about what game will be the game we know what we have with the 2019 49ers, but for right now, you can’t help but be enjoying things. They are going to a bye 3-0, undefeated. Say what you want, you can’t bring a 49ers fan down.

Except that the teams they beat kind of suck.

It begs the far-too-early question of if the 49ers are contenders or pretenders. Chris Roling at Bleacher Report put together the teams that are hot after Week 3 and gave his thoughts on contenders/pretenders. The 49ers are listed as pretenders. Uh-oh:

The 49ers have played three teams that share one win, and that came when Tampa Bay beat Carolina with a hobbled Cam Newton. Topping Cincinnati 41-17 looks impressive, but the opposition was laughable, and beating Pittsburgh 24-20 would’ve been more impressive if the Niners hadn’t coughed up five turnovers...

...The 49ers are through the easy part of their schedule and have an unfortunate Week 4 bye, which means no relief the rest of the way from bumps and bruises. They have to play the Los Angles Rams and Seattle twice apiece still. They got swept by Arizona last season and will face them twice. Non-divisional opponents include Green Bay, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Atlanta.

The two games I want to see are coming up: Cleveland and Los Angeles. If the 49ers somehow manage to win both those games (not counting on it), then I think the argument of if they are pretenders is pretty much moot. If they go 6-0, I don’t see how they don’t get a playoff spot with that hot start unless things go horribly, horribly wrong.

After 3-0 I’m not ready to say if the 49ers are contenders or pretenders. Looking at the schedule, I have to agree pretender is a fair statement. As I’ve said; to be the man, you gotta beat the man. Until the 49ers beat the Rams, I have to err on the side of “pretender.”

But maybe I’m wrong. Do you see the 49ers already as contenders (here come the 19-0 blasts), or do you see them as pretenders? Or do you just think they need a bit more time?