Scott Spratt broke down how many total games were lost for each NFL team, and it won't come as a surprise to The Faithful that the 49ers led the league by a significant margin, both including games missed due to COVID-19 and not including them.
San Francisco's players missed a total of 161.6 adjusted games, without COVID-19, and five more, including COVID-19. The next-highest number was 126.1, which the Philadelphia Eagles owned.
What are adjusted games lost? Football Outsiders factors in players who played with injuries, even if those injuries meant the player was at something less than 100 percent. It factors in games missed entirely and adjusted rates for those who play despite appearing on injury reports.
We already knew that the 49ers were the most injury-ravaged roster from this past season. What you may not know is that they were historically battered. Kyle Shanahan's squad endured the second-highest adjusted games lost since 2001, when Football Outsiders started tracking the data. Only the 2016 Chicago Bears had more with 171.6.
This is nothing new for the 49ers, though. The team has finished among the top 12 in adjusted games lost for eight consecutive seasons.
"Perhaps they need a better medical staff?" asks Spratt. "Washington (seven years) is the only other team with a bottom-12 streak longer than the Eagles' current streak of three years."
Spratt also breaks it down by offense and defense. San Francisco's offense had 78.7 adjusted games lost, which ranks as the third-most in the NFL. Its defense had 87.9 adjusted games lost, which was the most in the league. That includes the five combined games lost due to COVID-19.
More San Francisco 49ers News
-
49ers' most glaring roster weakness: Why safety is a 2026 concern
49ers Webzone writer Bob Heyrman recently ranked the San Francisco 49ers' position groups heading into training camp, placing safety at the bottom of the list and identifying it as the team's biggest concern. "Perhaps they surprise us, and I will gladly revisit that assessment... -
49ers place four players on PUP list; Warner, Bosa cleared for training camp; Two released
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke with reporters Saturday as the team opened training camp, marking his 10th camp with the organization. Lynch provided injury updates and announced that the following four players will begin camp on the physically unable to... -
49ers urged to sign two-time Super Bowl champion to bolster defense
Veteran NFL edge rusher Kyle Van Noy has made it clear he would welcome the opportunity to play for the San Francisco 49ers. Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox believes the fit makes sense for coordinator Raheem Morris' defense. Knox recently identified the top NFL free agents... -
49ers floated as 'team to watch' for blockbuster QB trade—but the logic has one major flaw
A feature from longtime sports journalist Vincent Bonsignore of the California Post generated plenty of buzz on Friday—not because of his evaluation of Brock Purdy, but because of one intriguing claim involving the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe...