The San Francisco 49ers are in the midst of an early season swoon.
While losses in Weeks 2 and 3 are far from season-ending blows, the nature of the 49ers’ 2024 campaign so far indicates that things may never turn around for them following a third consecutive deep playoff run.
A good indicator of where the 49ers season has gone is where they land in the USA TODAY power rankings where they’ve careened out of the top 10 following their losses to the Vikings and Rams.
Injuries are generally the only factor which have undercut Kyle Shanahan’s teams – in the regular season – and, boy, are they piling up. DT Javon Hargrave (triceps) is now out for the year, while QB Brock Purdy is dealing with a balky back and the first dip below .500 in his career. When RB Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) returns remains anyone’s guess.
It’s hard to push back on the analysis from Davis because it appears the only thing that would turn the 49ers’ season around is a dramatic shift in their health situation.
There are certainly other areas they could improve. Their pass rush hasn’t been good enough, but Hargrave’s injury won’t help in that area. They need more from All-Pro WR Brandon Aiyuk as well. San Francisco’s struggling defense could also use a shakeup in its starting lineup.
All of that would be helpful, but as long as players like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and McCaffrey are missing games, it’s nigh impossible to paint the 49ers as a top 10 NFL club, much less a Super Bowl contender.
The good news is there’s a long way to go in the 18-week season and the necessary improvements are clear. It’s just a matter of whether they can facilitate those improvements before time in their long season runs too short.
