The injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers entered Sunday's game against the Houston Texans already reeling from countless injuries and things got even worse.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan's face when one of his players went down said it all.
In the third quarter, linebacker Dee Winters went down with an injury as he made a tackle. The FOX broadcast cut to Shanahan's face on the sideline and his look of dejection, frustration, and borderline disbelief must have been felt by all the 49ers fans watching.
Kyle when Dee Winters went down pic.twitter.com/GlVDUrk1qI
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 26, 2025
This is nothing new for the Niners under Shanahan, though. The broadcast also shared a remarkable stat that since Shanahan became head coach in 2017, San Francisco players collectively have missed over 2,000 games due to injury, which is truly mind-boggling.
Winters was not the only player to go down in Sunday's game for San Francisco. Defensive linemen Alfred Collins and Jordan Elliott also went down and cornerback Upton Stout also got hurt. Thankfully, Stout, and Collins all returned but Elliott and Winters were eventually ruled out.
These injuries are pretty paltry when one considers all of the injuries San Francisco has dealt with this season, but Shanahan must feel absolutely fed up whenever he sees one of his players down on the field or being helped into the blue tent.
One cannot blame him. The Niners are already without edge rusher Nick Bosa for the rest of the season, and Fred Warner almost certainly will not return unless he makes a miracle return for the Super Bowl.
Oh yes, and as I was writing this yet another 49er went down with an injury. This time it was defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu.
Taken off on a cart. Yet another Shanahan scowl. We all know the routine at this point.
Those are just injuries on a defense that has been decimated all year, but on offense the team is still missing quarterback Brock Purdy as he deals with a toe injury. They are also without wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk. Plus, center Jake Brendel missed the game against Houston as well.
It really is reaching ridiculous levels with how banged up the team is, but what else can be expected when this has been the norm pretty much every season under Shanahan except 2019 and 2023 which are the two seasons the team has made the Super Bowl under Shanahan.
Football is obviously a violent game and injuries are an inevitable part of it, but Shanahan and the 49ers have been hurt by them pretty much more than any other team.