Even in a year the NFC West is a cesspool of mediocrity, the San Francisco 49ers are going nowhere.
All they needed to do was tread water until the return of Christian McCaffrey and their usual November and December surge. But, thanks to even more injuries, as well as some issues that are not getting fixed in 2024 (more on that later), this team is a loss to the Buffalo Bills away from being all but eliminated from the playoffs.
If and when that loss occurs, the 49ers should embrace the tank and shut down a host of key players for the remainder of the 2024 season — but not all of them.