The San Francisco 49ers amazing turnaround last year — winning six of their last seven games after losing the first nine — was even more stunning considering their numerous injuries.
24 players made the Niners Injured Reserve list this year, plus a few more who were waived/injured in training camp and one -- offensive lineman JP Flynn — who was put on the separate Practice Squad Injured Reserve List. (Who knew?)
The carnage did have a silver lining. In a year of wholesale rebuilding, all the injuries gave GM John Lynch a chance to try out several players who probably wouldn’t have seen many snaps otherwise.