How the 49ers have remained in thick of the playoff race despite a star-studded injury list

By Canadian Press on December 4, 2025.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The list of San Francisco 49ers players who have missed significant time to injuries this season is a star-studded one.

Brock Purdy. Nick Bosa. Fred Warner. George Kittle. Brandon Aiyuk.

Despite the absences of those stars and several other key players for long stretches this season, the Niners find themselves in the thick of the NFC playoff race headed into their bye week.

San Francisco (9-4) currently sits in seventh place in the conference and remains in the running for the NFC West title and a possible first-round bye in the playoffs thanks in part to role players brought in by general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan’s ability to adapt.

“I think, looking from the outside in, if people had said you would be 9-4 going into the bye, and you’re not going to have Fred Warner and Nick Bosa and Kittle is going to miss the first five weeks, and Brock is going to miss six or seven games, I think a lot of people would have laughed at everybody,” Kittle said. “Kudos to our coaching staff, coach Shanahan, Lynch for bringing in the right guys to fill in those spots. Developing players, taking advantage of those situations.”

According to SportsInfo Solutions, the 49ers have the fourth-most games lost because of injuries at 206 games with the value of those players ranking the highest of any team. The next three highest teams in terms of value lost — Arizona, Washington and Cincinnati — have combined for as many wins as San Francisco has so far this season.

The injuries started early this season for the 49ers with Purdy hurting his toe in the season opener and then missing eight of the next nine games. But San Francisco won five of them thanks to reclamation project Mac Jones, who flamed out as a first-round pick in New England but showed why Shanahan thought so highly of him when he almost picked him third overall in 2021.

The offense barely took a step back with Jones in place of Purdy, relying more on a short, quick passing game that relied heavily on a healthy Christian McCaffrey.

For all the injuries the Niners have endured this season, McCaffrey staying healthy has kept the offense churning. The 2023 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year missed 13 games last season because of injuries but has stayed healthy and productive despite a heavy workload this season.

McCaffrey leads the NFL with 322 touches from scrimmage — 17 shy of his total from the 2023 season — and also has a league-best 1,655 yards. With 806 yards receiving and 849 yards rushing, McCaffrey is closing in on his second season with at least 1,000 of each, a mark that only Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk have ever reached.

“I don’t think there was ever any doubt,” Kittle said of the team’s ability to overcome the injuries. “I would just say that when Mac Jones came in and just started slicing and dicing, I think that just gave everybody a lot of confidence. Then, Christian is having the year he’s having, … he’s a monster.

“I think guys are just stepping up. When you lose your people, like the guys you pay as franchise players, and guys step up and they can still play at a high level, it just gives the whole team confidence.”

The losses on defense have been more substantial with season-ending injuries to Bosa in Week 3 and Warner in Week 6 dealing a big blow to that side of the ball.

But coordinator Robert Saleh has done a good job piecing together the unit in their absence in his first year back after spending three-plus seasons as head coach of the New York Jets.

Despite a lack of a consistent pass rush and some issues at times in the secondary, the defense has delivered enough key plays in clutch spots to seal some wins.

And now the team gets to rest up and likely get a few more key players back after the late bye week to make a late-season push.

“I love where we’re at right now,” Shanahan said. “I believe we’d be in the playoffs today if it started, and we got four more games left to make sure we continue that. It’s been a long wait for a bye week. I never had one this late. I don’t know anyone on our team who has in the past. It’s finally here. Mentally and physically, it will be awesome to rest. We’ll be able to come back from that with four games to play for a chance to get in the playoffs. It’ll all you can ask for.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Josh Dubow, The Associated Press