"Adding insult to injury" might be a phrase describing the San Francisco 49ers' transition from Weeks 4 to 5.
Or, rather, "adding injury to insult."
Coming off a brutal 26-21 Week 4 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad now has to put the ugly defeat in the rearview mirror as it prepares for a critical Thursday Night Football showdown on the road against the 3-1 Los Angeles Rams that'll determine the NFC West's leader.
And the Niners may very well be without two of their best offensive weapons for the primetime affair, wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings.
Pearsall reaggravated the knee injury that bothered him in the week leading up to the Jags game, ultimately coming out late in the fourth quarter after a sideline catch. Jennings, who had been dealing with ankle and shoulder injuries, took a hard hit to the ribs on a two-point conversion in the second half, too.
Speaking to reporters on a Monday conference call, Shanahan's updates for both wideouts weren't exactly positive.
"Hopefully, we'll find out more later today," Shanahan said of both Jennings and Pearsall. "But, anytime guys are sore and hurting on a Monday, you usually don't stress too much about it. But anytime you have a Thursday game, it's a totally different element. So, I'm concerned with anybody who's not totally healthy at this moment, but we'll have to get more information on that later today to really kind of have a clue of what to speculate."
Shanahan said Pearsall might have suffered a minor PCL injury, but further tests have yet to be conducted.
Either way, both receivers' statuses are in doubt for Week 5.
Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings injuries are more than just problematic for 49ers
The season-long rash of offensive injuries have hindered the Niners in several ways, particularly with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk still on the mend from last year's ACL and MCL tears, while tight end George Kittle remains on the injured-reserve shelf with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 1.
A lack of pass-catching playmakers has allowed opposing defenses to deploy more two-shell coverages, meaning the run game with All-Pro Christian McCaffrey hasn't gotten off to a hot start.
Through four weeks, San Francisco is the lone team in the NFL without a rushing touchdown.
Pearsall and Jennings are arguably the only two receivers on Shanahan's roster who garner any significant respect from defenses, so their potential absence from an NFC West rivalry game would be a glaring problem, putting even more pressure on the head coach to scheme up ways to somehow get his underperforming offense to deliver.
Trying to do so on a short week only compounds the problem, especially with the 49ers averaging just 20 points scored per game.
Both receivers' injury statuses are going to be a critical point to monitor between now and Thursday, and the Niners can only hope at least one of them will be ready enough for the clash at SoFI Stadium.