SF 49ers: 5 causes behind Niners 2020 playoff elimination
By Peter Panacy
The SF 49ers aren’t going to the playoffs after making the Super Bowl a season ago, and Niner Noise explores the key reasons why.
While it’s technically been “over” for a while, the SF 49ers were officially eliminated from postseason contention in Week 15 after their loss to the Dallas Cowboys and combined with the Arizona Cardinals pulling off a win over the Philadelphia Eagles mere hours afterwards on Sunday.
In doing so, the Niners became the fifth Super Bowl-losing team failing to make the playoffs the following season over the last 11 years, which isn’t exactly a lofty accolade for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co.
Yet it’s hard to blame Shanahan entirely, as some have done, due to the many unique and overwhelming challenges the head coach and his staff have been forced to face.
Few teams, even the best of ones, could overcome losing their starting quarterback, their best two offensive skill players, their top defensive player and be forced to uproot from their home venue for the last quarter of the season en route to generating much success. While 5-9 isn’t exactly a record San Francisco wants to brag about this deep into the season, it should be noted no team has gone through more adversity this season than Shanahan’s squad.
Still, that only partially explains the SF 49ers’ premature exit from postseason contention.
Instead, let’s look deeper at the five biggest reasons why the Niners’ 2020 campaign came to a crashing end.
No. 5: All those SF 49ers injuries
The proverbial “elephant in the room” is going to be a key theme here, as injuries took their toll on San Francisco more than any other squad in the NFL this season.
Not including likely additions following Week 15, the SF 49ers currently have 25 players on injured reserve or some other injury list, which is a league high. And the CBS broadcast during Week 15 highlighted the sheer number of different player combinations the Niners have been forced to use this season, which has stretched well into the 70s.
Every team faces injuries, yes. But in San Francisco’s case, the overwhelming number has translated to third- and fourth-string players ending up getting key snaps, often resulting in many of the recent losses looking like an opponent’s A-squad lining up against a preseason-caliber roster.
It’s why SF 49ers fans are watching players like wide receiver River Cracraft and tight end Daniel Helm take the field instead of pass-catchers Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.