SF 49ers: 5 moments where things all went wrong in 2020

With the SF 49ers’ 2020 season officially over, Niner Noise looks back at the five exact moments where things fell apart beyond repair.

Consider this an autopsy, of sorts, for the SF 49ers‘ 2020 campaign.

With the full slate of 16 regular-season games over and the Niners having been eliminated from playoff contention after stumbling their way to a 6-10 record, it’s fair to ask what the causes are behind San Francisco’s failed attempt to get back to the Super Bowl after coming so close to winning it a little less than a year ago.

Yes, injuries were a massive concern. That would be an easy blame point to make. But all injuries aren’t equal, and head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad certainly felt some injury setbacks more than others.

There were also other causes behind the sub-optimal regular season, too, and those should be accounted for when considering what went wrong for the SF 49ers in 2020.

Which moments stand out as the biggest reasons why the Niners fell short of expectations this season?

Here are the five garnering the most attention.

No. 5: SF 49ers lose Nick Bosa to an ACL tear in Week 2

At the time, the Week 2 loss of EDGE Nick Bosa to a season-ending ACL tear seemed to be a playoff-hopes-crushing blow.

It truth, it was. Coordinator Robert Saleh’s defense simply wasn’t the same without its best pass-rusher after he was one of a number of players lost in that road victory over the NY Jets. Bosa being out for the rest of the year was compounded even more by the loss of fellow EDGE Dee Ford to a back injury, and even he managed to appear in just one game this season.

As a result, San Francisco finished the regular season with just 30 sacks, 11th fewest on the year. The lack of a speed rush off the edges was wholly apparent, as interior defensive linemen were tasked with rushing from the outside.

All that said, while a huge blow, Bosa’s loss can’t rank any higher than No. 5 on this list. Saleh and the SF 49ers still managed to manufacture pressure, registering quarterback hurries 10.3 percent of the time, good for sixth highest, which made up for the notable lack of an effective four-man pass rush.

And when one considers the Niners still boasted a top-five defense, in terms of total yards allowed (5,030), it’s fair to say Bosa’s injury was bad but not necessarily the element that derailed San Francisco’s season.