5 biggest reasons behind SF 49ers ugly start to 2020 season
No. 5: SF 49ers’ injuries
It seems best to get this one out of the way right out of the gate.
The SF 49ers may not be the most injured team in the NFL through Week 5, but it feels like the injuries have either come at the worst positions or bunched up within the same group.
Losing EDGE Nick Bosa in Week 2 is arguably the biggest loss, as it took away the defensive weapon that turned the 2018 Niners, who finished 4-12, into the 2019 Niners, who finished 13-3, won their division and conference, and nearly the Super Bowl.
Bosa’s presence allowed the head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch to pay less attention to their depth in the defensive backfield and maybe even allowed them to not look for an elite player at cornerback because the pass rush was so good last season.
Missing Bosa and fellow EDGE Dee Ford for basically the entire season thus far as turned a dominant pass rush into an almost anemic one.
According to Pro Football Focus, the 49ers defensive line has created 90 pressures through five games but only managed 10 sacks. Not getting home has led to a lot of quarterbacks running free in space, extending a large number of drives.
Injuries to the secondary have also hurt, as the 49ers were down to what was essentially their sixth cornerback in Brian Allen, who got burned by Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for five catches for 124 yards on Sunday.
But missing Richard Sherman for most of the season, Emmanuel Moseley for two weeks and counting, Ahkello Witherspoon for a few weeks in the middle of those two being out, and Jason Verrett earlier in the year has tested the depth.
Spoiler: the next man up has not been good.
This doesn’t even cover games missed by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman, tight ends George Kittle and Jordan Reed, wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, and guys like center Weston Richburg and defensive end Ronald Blair who haven’t even seen the field yet in 2020 due to injuries sustained late last year.
The injury situation is dire across the league, but as far as contenders coming into the season go, the SF 49ers seem to have been bit the hardest by the bug.
It can’t be an excuse, but losing all these players at the same time has hampered the team’s ability to get into a rhythm and play as well as they’re capable of playing.