The San Francisco 49ers have been besieged by injury after injury this year and yet find themselves right in the thick of the NFC playoff picture after a Monday Night Football victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Fred Warner was front and center for many reaction shots as his team authored a 20-9 victory to move to 8-4 on the year. The star linebacker joins defensive end Nick Bosa in being sidelined for the year and tight end George Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy have also missed some time.
A lesser team would not be able to sustain losing so many Pro Bowl-caliber players and yet Kyle Shanahan's unit continues to march along looking like a formidable test for any team that draws them in an elimination date.
Kittle joined SportsCenter after the game where he was asked by Scott Van Pelt about how the tried-and-true "next man up" mentality works in San Francisco when the next men up are replacing such good pieces.
"The 49ers organization, we have a standard that we play at," Kittle said. "Even when your best players are out, we still want to hold guys to that standard."
"And the 49ers organization, we have a standard that which we play at. ... Even when your best players are out, we still want to hold guys to that standard."
—@gkittle46 on the 49ers' mentality 😤 pic.twitter.com/pgcAxYesQY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 25, 2025
Kittle pointed out that every sidelined star mentioned above has been engaged in off-the-field preparations and remained a valuable resource for their teammates. He also credited the team's culture, which is an overused rallying cry but seems to have a real impact in the Bay Area.
"What I always try to tell guys is that the NFL is the land of opportunity," Kittle continued. "You don't know when you're going to get your chance you might not be ready for that chance. But it doesn't matter. Life's not waiting for you. You've got to go out there and take that opportunity. You've got to take control of that."
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