Well, we know where the Chargers and 49ers _won’t_ be on Feb. 8.
The Great Injury Ghoul swung his scythe again, meaning neither NFL team will be in Santa Clara for February’s Super Bowl unless they want to spectate up close.
The Chargers announced that left tackle Joe Alt won’t return this season from the ankle injury he suffered Sunday. The second-year tackle will need surgery to repair the high-ankle sprain, his second ankle injury this season.
“I feel bad for Joe, and I know it’s going to be OK,” coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday.
Alt was the team’s most valuable player after quarterback Justin Herbert.
With excellent offensive tackle Rashawn Slater done for the year as well, the Chargers no longer have a realistic chance to reach the Super Bowl.
The 49ers once again can’t seem to catch a break unless it’s to one of their players’ bones or ligaments.
Monday brought word that rookie defensive end Mykel Williams, a regular contributor, sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament Sunday.
Already, the San Francisco defense had lost star edge rusher Nick Bosa and four-time All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner to season-ending knee injuries. Top wide receiver Brandony Aiyuk isn’t expected to return this year from a knee injury. And starting quarterback Brock Purdy has sat out five games with a toe injury.
I could be wrong about these teams not making it to the Super Bowl and will gladly publish photos of myself in team gear if that happens.
This NFL season indeed is still somewhat young, and both the 49ers and Chargers have 6-3 records that give them margin for error.
It’s also true that Harbaugh and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan have overseen several football stunners nearly as fantastic as those overseen by Goldie Hawn and Gene Hackman as coaches in movies.
In fact, if Harbaugh were to lead the Chargers to Super Bowl 60, it likely wouldn’t be the most stunning feat of his career.
After all, his Stanford team in 2007 upset Pete Carroll’s undefeated USC as a 41-point underdog, ending the Trojans’ 35-game homefield winning streak in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Harbaugh engineered some big surprises as a quarterback, too — both in college at Michigan and with the NFL’s Colts.
Shanahan remains dangerous, too.
As his offense’s designer, playcaller and top teacher of coaches and players, the son of Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Shanahan is quantifiably splendid at creating mismatches. It’s a value-add skill that earns Shanahan top NFL dollar and assisted Super Bowl runs with the 49ers behind quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Purdy.
And it’s not too late for trades. San Francisco general manager John Lynch Jr. and Chargers counterpart Joe Hortiz could well obtain help before Tuesday’s 1 p.m. trade deadline.
But as 49ers star left tackle Trent Williams knows firsthand, there’s only so much that can be done to mitigate prolonged absences of true stars and to prevent fill-in players from getting exposed the more they play.
“Injuries are part of the game, and everyone deals with it, but we have been bitten particularly hard by the injury bug,” Williams said, per ESPN. “We’ve been able to continue and fight past it. But who knows? You never know when that straw is just enough to break the camel’s back.”
For the blocking-challenged Chargers, the biggest priority will be to keep quarterback Justin Herbert from suffering his own severe injury.
Herbert being healthy, at least for now, means the Chargers actually have enough talent to contend for a second playoff berth in two years under Harbaugh.
The 27-year-old Herbert is why his team is favored this week, by 2 1/2 points, against the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) and QB Aaron Rodgers, 41.
If you’re inclined to sip blue-and-gold and burgundy-and-gold-flavored drinks, Rodgers can tell you that a team can pull off a Super Bowl run, despite injury issues that were more severe than those the Chargers and Niners are fighting.
With Rodgers in peak form at age 27, the 2010 Green Bay Packers overcame season-ending injuries to six good players and others to win three road playoff games. Despite losing Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson and No. 2 receiver Donald Driver during the Super Bowl, Rodgers and team beat the Steelers for the trophy.
Sometimes, the exception proves the rule.