Jan. 25, 2026, 7:45 p.m. PT
Injuries helped define the San Francisco 49ers‘ 2026 season, but one analytics site went as far as calculating exactly how much they and the 31 other teams were impacted by those injuries.
Sports Info Solutions tallied each team’s total games missed due to injury. Then they went a step further and estimated the number of points lost based on which players were out and how much time they missed. This helps take into account the impact of a player’s time missed. For example, rookie reserve linebacker Nick Martin missing four games to injury would be less impactful on the scoreboard than Christian McCaffrey missing one game due to injury.
It turns out that the 49ers neither had the most games lost nor the most points lost to injury, but they did lead all playoff teams in the second category.
SIS had San Francisco’s roster down for 262 total games missed to injury − the seventh-highest total in the league and the fourth-most among teams that reached the postseason.
What hurt the 49ers most this season, however, wasn’t their total number of games missed. It was the quality of the players who were sent to the sidelines. That includes wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle, quarterback Brock Purdy, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa who all missed either a significant portion of or the entire 2025 campaign.
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Because of the quality of players San Francisco saw injuries to, their total points lost landed at 200 per SIS. That was the third-highest mark in the NFL behind the Arizona Cardinals (266 points) and the Washington Commanders (230). The 49ers lost the most points to injury among playoff teams, just ahead of the Buffalo Bills who lost 190 points.
That duo was well clear of the next playoff team, the Los Angeles Chargers. They were 12th overall and third among playoff teams at 148 points lost − seven touchdowns (with extra points) and a field goal fewer than the 49ers.
San Francisco did manage to get some key players back on offense by the end of the year, as evidenced by their 35.7 points from Weeks 11-17. The defensive side is where injuries were a major problem. The 49ers’ pass rush was non-existent and their ability to stay organized and effective against the run and pass in the second level went away without Warner manning the middle of their front seven.
There are a slew of holes the 49ers have to fill on their roster this offseason, but their path back to a Super Bowl starts with their stars staying healthy.
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