The San Francisco 49ers are coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, so it will be tough to get back on that horse again.

But former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress says that it must be done.

During Monday morning’s episode of FS1’s The Carton Show, Burress said that the 49ers absolutely have to win the championship next season in order for it to be a success.

Burress thinks that San Francisco is the most talented team in the NFL and should easily make it to the NFC Championship Game. He also thinks the Niners are the clear favorites to represent the conference in the Super Bowl yet again.

He adds that the 49ers’ defense is a year older and that there are players on the team that are disgruntled with their contract situations, which is even more incentive for San Francisco to win now.

It’s hard to argue with Burress.

The Niners keep knocking on the door, but they have been unable to break through.

They first made the Super Bowl under Kyle Shanahan back in February 2020, where they lost to the Chiefs. The 49ers then missed the playoffs entirely the following season, but in 2021 and 2022, San Francisco fell in the NFC Championship Game in back-to-back campaigns.

Shanahan finally got the Niners back to the Super Bowl this past winter, only to fall to Kansas City in overtime.

To make matters worse, the 49ers blew 10-point leads in both of their Super Bowl losses to the Chiefs.

Obviously, those were two different teams. Jimmy Garoppolo was the quarterback of the first club, and Brock Purdy quarterbacked the squad this past year. There are also many different pieces on the roster now than there were five years ago.

Still, it doesn’t change the fact that San Francisco is a loaded football club that is in championship or bust territory. As Burress notes, just getting there isn’t enough. The Niners have already done that. They need to finally win one, or else this era will be considered a failure, regardless of how much else they have achieved.

The 49ers will open up their 2024 NFL season against the New York Jets on Monday, Sept. 9.

We’ll see if San Francisco can finally get over the hump.

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