I've said it a million times, but I'll say it again. As much as we want to talk about talent and scheme and playmakers, football is really just a sport of attrition.
The 49ers are reckoning with that fact in a big way following Sunday's game in New Jersey.
San Francisco lost their top defensive player, defensive end Nick Bosa. A few snaps later, his backup, Solomon Thomas went down with a non-contact leg injury. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo messed up his ankle. Then top running back Raheem Mostert picked up a knee injury.
All of this happened in the first half.
The 49ers still won. Their performance was adequate _ admirable, even, given the injuries _ but the 31-6 scoreline said more about the Jets than San Francisco.
We won't know the full extent of the attrition until tomorrow at the soonest, but it's best to prepare as if Bosa will not play again for the 49ers this season. I've seen enough ACL tears in my day to know that Bosa's knee injury wasn't minor.
Garoppolo's ankle injury had him hobbling around in the second quarter. It's difficult to guess the extent of the injury, because, again, they were playing the Jets and taking out first-string players wouldn't _ and didn't _ create a problem.
But this is a team that was already down George Kittle, Richard Sherman, and Dee Ford. There were other injuries _ the natural bruises and sprains that come from playing a full-contact sport _ that happened in the game that will be a factor moving forward.
The Niners entered the season as deep as any team in the NFL, but after two games, that depth is gone. In so many places, those backups are now starters. The only perk is that there's plenty of time and another less-than-capable team ahead of them on the schedule _ the Niners get the Giants next week.
But if the injury ramifications from this game linger for more than a few weeks, the Niners have as hellacious a final 11 games as anyone in the NFL, with five games in the toughest division in football _ the NFC West _ remaining.
