While everyone is praying for a Fred Warner return, my own eyes (and probably those of the San Francisco 49ers) are fixed on the comeback of a second-year player at the opposite end of the field.
Before the Niners' Sunday upset of the Philadelphia Eagles, I would've said that to have had any chance at all, they needed two of their blue-chip players back from the sidelines: left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
If you'd asked me prior to the week as well, I'd have guessed of the two, Pearsall was more likely to make it. His injury seemed less severe, and in any case, he had played through a few niggles throughout the season.
By the time toe met leather on Sunday, though, only one was back in uniform, and it was the hulking All-Pro figure of Williams that donned the Niners jersey in time to help inspire his team to their stunning upset.
Pearsall was nowhere to be found.
The 49ers need him back for their divisional-round showdown against the Seattle Seahawks, and the reasons were all over even the fun parts of Sunday's win.
49ers can't get Ricky Pearsall back from injury soon enough
Firstly, Pearsall is a dynamic playmaker. That didn't used to be such rarefied air on the San Francisco roster, but with Christian McCaffrey's age, the injury to George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk's disappearing act, the 49ers offense is sorely lacking in consistently available explosive material to make explosive plays.
That shows itself in many ways, but against more competent defenses (and Seattle has probably the best one in football), it slows the 49ers offense to a plodding, dull pace with few explosives or "chunk" plays. Kyle Shanahan did an excellent job of coaching around it on Sunday, finding both some production out of the unlikely figure of Demarcus Robinson and drawing up some ludicrous trick plays to break the dam, especially Jauan Jennings' unforgettable touchdown pass to McCaffrey late in the game.
Still, though, to continue doing so, especially against such a good defense, is tantamount to coaching with one hand behind his back.
Having Pearsall available changes the maths across the field, and he opens up so many more possibilities for the Niners. They'll need almost as many of them as they can possibly get, particularly as they'll be looking to protect their defense again; something unachieved against Seattle in the regular-season finale.
Secondly, Pearsall is just a solid overall player. He has excellent chemistry with Brock Purdy, good hands, good separation skills, and is generally a threat to opposing defenses, whether he's catching the ball or not. His mere presence seems to be enough to loosen defenses up, and the 49ers badly need that.
For all that the Niners will be an underdog again in this week's playoff clash, the fact is, the margins between them and the Seahawks are often razor-thin. Pearsall's return to both the lineup and prominence, with a possibility to cap off a promising if injury-plagued season with a true breakout performance, could be the type of marginal gain that makes all the difference in San Francisco continuing a Super Bowl push.