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Henry McKenna
NFL Reporter
If James Cook could cut through the 49ers defense in the snow, Christian McCaffrey could surely annihilate the Bills’ unit. During that first quarter on Sunday night, it seemed like only a matter of time before McCaffrey would burst past a sliding-on-black-ice Bills defender and coast into the end zone.
Instead, he collapsed in a heap in the backfield.
Giving himself up.
On the previous play — we later found out — he’d suffered a knee injury that would likely end his season. And that injury is likely to end the 49ers’ season, too. It was the tendon that broke the Camel’s back.
It felt like the 49ers giving themselves up. Not just in the game, which quickly got out of hand, but also in the season as a whole. They now have just an 8% chance of making the playoffs, per Next Gen Stats.
Who knew McCaffrey’s knee could destabilize the NFL world’s view of the 49ers?
Because, now, there’s talk of trading coach Kyle Shanahan. There’s talk of trading receiver Deebo Samuel, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave or both. There’s talk of sweeping roster cuts of aging stars.
What went wrong for the 49ers this year? Do their issues in 2024 speak to lasting problems? And could those problems bring their championship window to a close?
Because it’s one thing for the 49ers to have a fluke season. It’s another thing for Shanahan’s run to be over.
If you pulled up San Francisco’s depth chart ahead of Week 1, you’d see all the pieces in place: premium players at every important position. So let’s rewind to that point, shall we? When there wasn’t just hope but genuine confidence.
Quarterback Brock Purdy was the only player with wisps of uncertainty, but he had done enough in 2023 to make criticism feel like a hot take. Besides, he had McCaffrey, tackle Trent Williams, tight end George Kittle and receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Samuel. No quarterback had it better — on paper.
But then came the…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/49ers-approaching-closing-championship-window
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Publish date : 2024-12-04 20:04:00
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