The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with multiple key injuries heading into their Week Five matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
San Francisco 49ers Week Injury Report for Week Five
The 49ers have lost their last two games and currently sit at 1-3 on the season, but the Cardinals are the only team in the league yet to win a single game.
Despite the numerous injuries, this is a very winnable match for the 49ers at home, and a loss could foreshadow a disastrous rest of the season.
Offensive Line Injuries
The offensive line has been devastated by injuries, and the unit could be looking very different than normal when the team takes the field in Week Five.
Left tackle Joe Staley, center Weston Richburg, and right tackle Mike McGlinchey have all been ruled questionable.
To make matters worse, backup lineman Joshua Garnett has missed the previous three weeks with a dislocated toe and is questionable for Sunday’s game.
If the 49ers are missing 60 percent of their starting offensive line, it could mean that C.J. Beathard is in for a rough day.
If the protection struggles and Beathard doesn’t have adequate time to throw, it’ll be hard for the 49ers passing offense to get going.
The 49ers also struggled to initiate their rushing attack against the Los Angeles Chargers last week, and a banged up offensive line isn’t going to making reigniting the running game any easier.
The good news for the 49ers from that perspective is that the Cardinals run defense has struggled this year, but the offensive line injuries are still potentially troubling for this game.
Breida Expected to Play
Matt Breida came out of the Chargers game with a shoulder injury but later returned to action. Kyle Shanahan expects Breida to be good to go against the Cardinals.
Breida has been arguably the most impressive offensive player for the 49ers thus far this season, and he needs to continue to play well to mitigate the absence of Jimmy Garoppolo.
Breida leads qualified running backs with 7.6 yards per rush, six carries of over 20 yards, and ranks third in the league in rushing yards.
The Cardinals run defense has been vulnerable this season, and Breida can make a huge impact if he’s able to play.
The Cardinals have given up seven rushing touchdowns this year, which is the most any team has given up thus far. They have also given up a league-leading 36 first downs on the ground.
The Cardinals rank second in the league with 141.3 rushing yards allowed per game, and the 49ers would be wise to do everything they can to exploit this weakness.
49ers Receiver Injuries
The 49ers are also looking at some injuries to their wide receiver corps, making Beathard’s job even more difficult than it already is.
Dante Pettis has been ruled out with a knee injury. Marquise Goodwin is questionable with hamstring/quad issues. Pierre Garcon has an ankle injury, but Shanahan expects him to be okay.
These receiver injuries could be another strong incentive for the 49ers to predicate their offense on their run game against this Cardinals defense.
49ers Defensive Injuries
The 49ers defense will be without the services of Richard Sherman again due to his calf injury, but the secondary is expected to get strong safety Jaquiski Tartt back.
Tartt has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury. Antone Exum started in his place last week and returned an interception for a touchdown.
The Cardinals have not been able to generate any type of potent passing attack this season, so Tartt returning is going to make that challenge even more daunting for them.
The Cardinals have the lowest yards per attempt, the fewest first downs through the air, the second lowest passer rating, the second-fewest touchdown passes, the second-fewest yards, the fifth-lowest completion percentage, and are one of just three teams to not have completed a pass over 40 yards this season.
Defensive lineman Solomon Thomas suffered a shoulder injury last week, but he is expected to be okay for this upcoming game.
Thomas is still figuring out his role in this defense, but he has been participating in higher percentages of the unit’s plays while healthy this season.
49ers Need a Win
While there are multiple injuries the 49ers are dealing with, it’s going to be really troubling if they aren’t able to win this game.
It doesn’t get much easier than playing a winless team in front of a home crowd. It’s going to speak volumes about the state of this team post-Garoppolo if the 49ers lose this week.
A loss in this game might be the strongest signal yet that the 49ers aren’t going anywhere this season without Garoppolo in the lineup.
