Promising Season Turns Nightmare as 49ers’ Key Players Benched

Promising Season Turns Nightmare as 49ers’ Key Players Benched

Many NFL teams struggled in the postseason after a Super Bowl loss, but for the San Francisco 49ers, the losers and number 039; the curse turned into a nightmare.

Despite a 4-4 record, the 49ers are in last place in the NFC West. Teams have completed .500 seasons to make the playoffs in the past, but a tough division and countless injuries make it look like that won’t happen.Only three teams have won the Super Bowl the year after losing it, and the 2018 New England Patriots are the only team to win it since 1972. Back-to-back Super Bowl appearances are a challenge for any team, but the 49ers were hopeful in 2020 because of their talent and depth.Instead, San Francisco was ravaged by injuries.

That Week 2 win over the New York Jets was especially devastating when Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas suffered torn ACLs that ended their seasons. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a severe ankle sprain that his head has been dealing with ever since.Bill Kostroun/Associated PressInjuries have particularly affected an offense that has struggled to find consistency without Deebo Samuel, Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman.

 

After finishing second in scoring at 29.9 points per game in 2019, the 49ers are an average unit at 26.0 points this year.The offense took two more hits on Monday when it was announced that Garoppolo and George Kittle would be out. Each player has already missed two games this year, but missing both for more than a few weeks will make it difficult to pace the offense.

This news also came at the worst moment. San Francisco’s next two games are against NFC rivals the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints. In fact, the 49ers have the toughest remaining schedule.That, and this year’s expanded playoff format, which allows for three wild-card teams from each conference instead of two, may not be enough to help the 49ers sneak into the postseason. The 5-2 Arizona Cardinals and 5-3 Los Angeles Rams are in the hunt for Wild Card spots despite trailing the 6-1 Seattle Seahawks in the division.

The 5-3 Chicago Bears and 5-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers also look like teams that can secure a playoff spot without winning the division.San Francisco needs to lean on quarterback Nick Mullens to make a postseason push. Although he played well off the bench Sunday against Seattle, throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, the Seahawks have the worst defense in the league, allowing 460.9 yards per game.

Future opponents also have time to draft Mullens, which makes things difficult for him.With their injury list, upcoming schedule and unforgiving division, the 49ers are in for a very unlucky season. These factors make it unlikely that they will make the playoffs. Football Outsiders has the 49ers just a 29.9 percent chance of making the playoffs, down from 12.4 percent last week.

The good news for San Francisco is that this nightmare could come to fruition in 2021 and beyond if it marks a spot where a new quarterback will be considered for the 2021 draft.The front office could even part ways with Garoppolo this offseason and replace him with a big name through free agency or the draft.

According to Spotrac, the 29-year-old is due $26.9 million in 2021 and another $27.0 million in 2022. However, if the 49ers were to waive him, they would only lose $2.8 million next season, saving $51.1 million. . million over the next two years – which they could spend on other players.Financially, it would make sense for the 49ers to cut their losses and start looking for their quarterback of the future.

 

Right now, only four quarterbacks have bigger contracts, and Garoppolo hasn’t done nearly enough to be a top KB in the league.In the offseason, starting quarterback could be a real possibility. If the season ended today, the 49ers would have the 15th pick, but that could change with a few losses over the next month.

North Dakota State’s Trey Lance could be an ideal replacement for Garoppolo in Kyle Shanahan’s system given his arm talent and mobility.With half the season still to play, things couldn’t get much worse for the 49ers, who are on pace to join the 2007 Chicago Bears and 2016 Carolina Panthers as the last teams to win the worst Super Bowl – loss and number 039. ; a curse However, this year’s and the 49ers’ players probably won’t be the worst Super Bowl losers of all time. The Oakland Raiders of 2003 hold that title after going 4-12 and several teams were under .500.

The 49ers still have winnable games against Washington and the Dallas Cowboys.The 49ers probably won’t be as bad in 2021 with the injuries that have hurt them this season. Still, it’s a season to forget for a team that came so close to lifting the Lombardi Trophy nine months ago..