3 injuries that cost 49ers their season after critical NFC West loss to Rams

The San Francisco 49ers were decimated with injuries, one way or another this week. Fred Warner announced he had been playing this season with an ankle injury. Brandon Aiyuk went down with an ACL and MCL injury early in the season. 

Brock Purdy has had injury issues this year and Christian McCaffrey’s season was over just as soon as he finally made his season debut. It’s been a season for the 49ers to forget. They’ve lost eight games this year, which is the most in a season for them since 2020. 

After Thursday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the playoffs and third appearance in the Super Bowl in the last four years seems like a long shot. So let’s take a look at how their injuries this season have completely upended their hopes of finally winning a Super Bowl after coming up short twice against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. 

3. The 49ers losing Christian McCaffrey as soon as they got him was a damper on a season that needed a spark

Christian McCaffrey appeared in just four games this year after his season debut was delayed for the first eight games of the season. The 49ers eagerly waited to get McCaffrey back, who had a MVP-caliber 2023 campaign. 

He had a career-high 21 total touchdowns with 2,023 total yards from scrimmage. It was a dominant season where his team came up short of a Super Bowl. 

And after dealing with an ankle injury in the beginning of the year, the 49ers patiently waited for his return. It took McCaffrey a while but it looked like the Buffalo Bills game was the game he was going to break out in. 

It ended up being the game that ended his season. I’m not sure if he would have had any of the same spark he had last year, but McCaffrey is a dynamic player that has aided Brock Purdy this year. So anytime he’s there, it gives Purdy a sure-fire playmaker to get the ball. 

That said, the fact that he never got a chance to truly help this offense this year, will be one of the reasons it all went awry for the 49ers. 

2. The only thing worse than losing Christian McCaffrey was losing Jordan Mason the same game

It takes some serious unfortunate luck to lose your top two running backs in the same game. That’s exactly what happened to the 49ers when they lost McCaffrey and Jordan Mason in the same game. 

Mason had been the feature back all season as McCaffree was dealing with his ankle injury he suffered in preseason. He was one of the top backs in the NFL this year before he went out with an injury. He finished the season with 789 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. 

He’s on IR for a high ankle sprain and could be back for the last game of the season, but with the way this season is going, it’s more likely he’s done for 2024. And because he was the perfect backup option, it stings for a team that could make a late season push. 

Mason had three 100-plus rushing yard games this year and seven games with 70 or more rushing yards. He was having a breakout season and quickly working his way to being McCaffrey’s replacement as his injury-riddled career continued to take a hit. 

Nonetheless, his 2024 season is probably done, but the good thing is based off this season, he should have a promising 2025 year, post-recovery. 

1. Javon Hargrave triggered the domino effect of season-ending injuries for the 49ers

While the 49ers had been plagued by injuries, it seemed to all start with Javon Hargrave. He partially tore his right tricep during the 49ers first game against the Los Angeles Rams this year and has been on IR since. 

San Francisco has been able to manage, defensively, without him. But it doesn’t make it any better not having him clogging up the middle. He was a welcomed addition to San Francisco last season. He had seven sacks with 44 tackles and was named to the Pro Bowl. 

Any time you’re without a Pro Bowler, it’s always going to be hard. But with the 49ers run defense not as good this year, you have to think not having Hargrave clog up the middle is part of that reason. 

He was the first of many injuries that have depleted this season and after Thursday’s loss, it’s hard to imagine the 49ers have enough left to put together a playoff push.