4 early signs SF 49ers are in Super Bowl hangover
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Injuries have taken a toll on SF 49ers depth
It’s the proverbial elephant in the room for the SF 49ers, but injuries across the board have certainly held sway over the team’s 2-2 start.
Key injuries have been suffered by EDGE Nick Bosa (ACL), cornerback Richard Sherman (calf), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quad), wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot), EDGE Dee Ford (back), center Weston Richburg (knee), quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle), tight end George Kittle (knee), defensive tackle Solomon Thomas (ACL) and many more.
Injuries alone can’t account for the presumed hangover. But there’s a correlation to be made.
The Niners dealt with injuries last season, too, boasting the sixth-highest adjusted games lost metric (95.8), per Football Outsiders. No other team ranked higher than them made the playoffs.
But injuries to players like Thomas and defensive end Ronald Blair (ACL) have tested San Francisco’s depth early in 2020, unlike the majority of injuries they suffered last year in the second half.
Unlike last season, the current crop of depth players aren’t riding the momentum many second- and third-string players were able to do late in 2019.
Injuries have played a massive role, yes. But the inability of San Francisco’s depth to shoulder the load has made the SF 49ers an OK team, not a Super Bowl-caliber team.