Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for the San Francisco 49ers, they did. Last week saw headlines dominated by a rash of injuries from Week 2, with the Niners bearing the brunt of them during their win over the New York Jets. Complaints over the quality of the turf at MetLife Stadium led the NFL to investigate, but no issues were found.
Returned to the crime scene to face the New York Giants, the 49ers saw yet another key player to go down with injury, with tight end Jordan Reed immediately grabbing his ankle after attempting to make a touchdown catch in the back of the end zone in the first quarter.
Reed left the game to be evaluated by the team's medical staff, but later returned, only to leave again with an apparent knee injury. That knee injury, according to Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, is a sprained MCL, and it will keep Reed on the sideline for 6-8 weeks.
The 49ers were without a laundry list of top talent for that game against the Giants, including Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas, Dee Ford, Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and more. George Kittle, ruled out for the Giants game, joined a slew of key players nursing injuries for a second straight week, and that made Reed that much more valuable to the offense. Even without all of those players available, the Niners managed to blow the Giants off the field with a 36-9 win.
With Reed down, the Niners will likely turn to Ross Dwelley for extended snaps should Kittle have to sit out another week. Luckily, rookie wideout Brandon Aiyuk got up to speed quickly and was a major contributor in the win against New York, and second-year receiver Deebo Samuel is due to begin practicing this week as well.
