4 dream scenarios 49ers can hope for during 2022 season
By Peter Panacy
49ers dream scenario No. 3: Niners stay relatively healthy
Injuries are as big a part of football as touchdowns, interceptions and fumbles. The 49ers know this all too well from the injury-riddled disaster that was 2020, putting an end to the notion they could get right back into the Super Bowl and win it after coming so close the season before.
Things weren’t as bad in 2021, but they were still problematic.
According to Football Outsiders’ adjusted-games-lost metric, the Niners finished 2021 with an AGL rating of 119.5. Granted, that was nowhere close to the whopping 166.6 experienced in 2020, a number that led the league by far, but the 2021 mark still ranked fourth worst in the NFL anyway.
Two key players from previous years, running back Raheem Mostert and cornerback Jason Verrett, both suffered season-ending injuries in Week 1, while quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered injury setbacks that forced him to miss two starts, giving way to then-rookie Trey Lance, who went 1-1 in relief.
Other injuries impacted San Francisco, too.
In an ideal world, the law of averages swings back in the 49ers’ favor, and they emerge as one of the healthier teams across the NFL over the course of 2022.