49ers 31-13 Win Over Jets Spoiled by the Flurry of Injuries
Nightmare.
An absolute nightmare of a day for the San Francisco 49ers in their 31-13 Week 2 win against the New York Jets.
You cannot even get excited about the win or the overall performance of the 49ers because of the massive wave of injuries. It was like a hurricane of bad luck hit the team once they stepped onto the field at MetLife Stadium. A turf field that was just installed only a couple of weeks ago, which may have factored into the flurry of injuries.
The players at least think so as Arik Armstead took to Twitter immediately once he entered the locker room to voice his frustrations.
It all started when Nick Bosa was carted off the field in the middle of the first quarter with a knee injury. And anytime a player is carted off field, it is a general indicator that the injury is severe.
Sure enough, Bosa's injury is "most likely" a torn ACL according to Kyle Shanahan. If that is the case, then expect the 49ers to place Bosa on season-ending injured reserve.
Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas could also have torn an ACL as he too was taken off the field via cart. Shanahan said that Thomas has a "better chance" of not having a torn ACL, but it isn't looking good for him either.
Jimmy Garoppolo (high ankle sprain) and Raheem Mostert (mild MCL sprain) fill out the injury report as they didn't even finish the game. Both players were pulled at half time considering the three-score lead the 49ers had built up.
Week 1 and 2 has some similarities in terms of excitement.
When the 49ers went up 10-0 in Week 1, it looked as if they were going to runaway with it. When Mostert scored on the very first play of the game today, the thinking was the same as last week.
But once Bosa was carted off, it was a struggle to maintain focus on the game. Ford is already on the shelf and now it looks as if Bosa will be on there as well for the entirety of the 2020 season.
The positives to take away from this game is that Garoppolo will return eventually. High ankle sprains are generally 4-6 weeks of recovery, but as of now the 49ers will take it week-to-week. Backup quarterback Nick Mullens is expected to start in Week 3 against the New York Giants
As for Mostert, he was diagnosed with a mild MCL sprain, so the 49ers were wise to pull him from the game at halftime to avoid further injury. Given the terrible field conditions, I would hard pressed to believe that Mostert will be active next week on the same exact field.
Aside from the injuries, Jordan Reed was a fresh of breath air to watch. Having him find his comfort zone is going to be necessary for the 49ers going forward. Not only because of the injury to George Kittle, but because the offense will need to be the strength of the team now.
The 49ers will now turn the page to Week 3 to face the Giants. A matchup that I am sure they are not looking forward to considering they will be playing on the same field that staged the flurry of injuries.
