With Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle and other players missing due to injury, the 49ers would have been shorthanded Thursday night even if Kendrick Bourne didn’t test positive for COVID-19.
Bourne did, however, and the wideout’s result led to left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk being ruled out as close contacts. After the 34-17 loss to Green Bay, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged the difficulty of playing without so many guys while saying he expected more from the team.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge,” Shanahan said at his press conference. “We knew at the start of the week it was going to be a challenge and then losing those three guys yesterday was obviously a bigger challenge, but I still thought we could have a game and still thought we could play better than we did tonight. Being down like that and not being at our best and going against a good team like that, usually that’s usually what happens, but I know we could have done better.”
The loss drops the 49ers to 4-5 with a trip to the Saints on deck before a bye week. The 49ers should have some players back for that game, but many will remain out and the challenge may remain too great for last season’s NFC champs as a result.