The San Francisco 49ers couldn't have gotten off to much worse a start in the divisional round against the Seattle Seahawks, falling behind 7-0 on the opening kickoff and then ending up trailing 17-0 before the first quarter was even over.
And it wasn't as if quarterback Brock Purdy and the rest of the offense were able to get much of anything either.
If the Niners were going to mount a comeback, they'd need their best offensive player, running back Christian McCaffrey.
On both of San Francisco's first-half scoring drives, McCaffrey managed to play a key role. But that was before delivering a chip block late in the second quarter that resulted in him coming off the field with an injury.
Christian McCaffrey suffers stinger injury, absence dooms 49ers vs. Seahawks
McCaffrey was in clear pain on the sideline with the 49ers' medical trainers working on him while their team was trailing 24-6.
Instead of returning to action, McCaffrey watched as No. 2 tailback Brian Robinson Jr. took the opening runs of the second half, even giving an alternate carry to rookie Jordan James, who has scantly seen the field all year.
Fox Sports' Tom Rinaldi later announced McCaffrey suffered a stinger and was doing everything he could to get back on the field.
Fortunately, stingers aren't long-term injuries, and it's possible CMC winds up getting back into the fray before the game's conclusion.
Unfortunately, however, the Niners are trailing by a massive margin and likely didn't have enough firepower to stage what'd have to be an epic comeback anyway.
It'd be one thing to do that against a good defense.
But Seattle's defense is elite, and there's a strong likelihood McCaffrey wouldn't make much more of a difference getting San Francisco above the six points scored over the first two quarters-plus.
Update: McCaffrey was able to return to the game late in the third quarter, but the pain management will likely continue to be a factor.