The San Francisco 49ers have a tall task in front of them on Sunday. Kyle Shanahan and company will be tasked with knocking off one of the best teams in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers, without starting quarterback Brock Purdy and star pass rusher Nick Bosa.
Purdy finished last week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, but he picked up a shoulder injury along the way that kept him out of practice this week. Bosa did leave that loss to the Seahawks due to a hip and oblique injury, and now that ailment is going to cost him another game.
The 49ers have already announced that former Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals backup Brandon Allen is going to be the starter on Sunday against the Packers. The backup will likely be veteran Josh Dobbs, who has made the rounds in the NFL and was the starter with the Minnesota Vikings for an extended period of time last season after the injury to Kirk Cousins.
While Dobbs isn’t getting the start on Sunday, Shanahan spoke about how valuable he has been for the team this season on Friday.
“He’s been awesome,” Shanahan said. “[Dobbs and Allen] split the scout team reps so they both get equal reps over there throughout the year and really loved having him in the room. And he’s been great on the field too.”
49ers must win to keep pace in NFC West
While the 49ers have struggled with injuries up and down the roster and inconsistent play this season, the rest of the NFC West has taken full advantage of the opening. The Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals have all been able to survive some adversity of their own and keep pace in the division race, making the NFC West one of the most crowded and unpredictable divisions in football.
As it stands, every loss is crucial as these four teams start the home stretch of the season. The 49ers have a brutal remaining schedule that includes division games against the Rams and Cardinals, both of whom beat San Francisco earlier in the season, as well as dates with the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.
If Purdy isn’t healthy and is forced to miss more time than just this game, the 49ers can kiss the playoffs goodbye. However, if they want to get back to the Super Bowl again, they need to get hot and find that grove that they haven’t been able to get into so far this season. Purdy’s health is a big part of that, but they will have to find a way to get a win on Sunday without him.
A loss to drop to 5-6 would be a big blow for the 49ers, who risk falling two games behind the Cardinals for the division lead without a head-to-head tiebreaker. It looks like the NFC Wild Card spots are going to be very hard to get this season, so the 49ers must keep pace with the Cardinals and the rest of their division foes for the rest of the way.
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