Numbers don't lie: 49ers are mirroring the dreadful 2020 season

San Francisco 49ers fans have been spoiled with playoff football the past three seasons. In fact, they have been gifted with their team making it to three consecutive NFC Championship games in a row.

The last NFC team to play in four consecutive title games failed to make the playoffs the following year.

Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Niners have made the postseason every year since 2021. Yet fans may recall what happened the season prior, an injury-plagued campaign that led to a 6-10 finish and last-place standing within the NFC West.

After a 1-2 start to this year, there are a striking number of similarities that do not look good for San Francisco.

Injuries are already biting the 49ers hard

In 2020, the 49ers suffered an unprecedented rash of injuries that all but ensured failure.

Defensive end Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas went down with early ACL tears, tight end George Kittle missed half the season, wide receiver Deebo Samuel was frequently banged up, running back Raheem Mostert had injury issues, cornerback Richard Sherman was in and out of the lineup and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was frequently unavailable, too, among plenty of other setbacks.

According to Football Outsiders' (now defunct) adjusted-games-lost metric, the Niners were far and away the most-injured team of 2020.

Three weeks into 2024, San Francisco has already watched both Kittle and Samuel miss time, while running back Christian McCaffrey is on injured reserve. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, too, is likely done for the year with a partially torn triceps.

While there's a long way to go, 2024's injury front is looking a lot like how 2020 went down.