It’s no secret that the 49ers have dealt with an inordinate amount of adversity in 2020, but the team, Mike McGlinchey in particular, still believes they have a chance.
With an injury list that could field an entire starting lineup on both sides of the ball, the 49ers are the poster children for the “Next Man Up” philosophy. The starting lineup in the team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers included players many fans had never heard of. (see: WR River Cracraft, RB Austin Walter)
While the 49ers sit at the bottom of the NFC West, they are clinging on to a spot in the top half of the overall NFC. With an expanded playoff picture, McGlinchey knows the team still has a chance to see the postseason. He believes the most important games are still yet to be played.
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SIGN UP HERE “November and December make and break NFL seasons,” McGlinchey said on Wednesday. “Everybody can do whatever they want for the first eight, nine weeks of the season, but when it comes down to it, it’s the teams that are getting better each and every week, trying to stack days, trying to stack games and experience that really make the run.”
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Of the 49ers' 11 offensive starting players in last season’s nail biter in New Orleans, only three return for the matchup on Sunday, McGlinchey, Kyle Juszczyk and Laken Tomlinson. Emmanuel Sanders will be on the field, but he’s suiting up for the New Orleans Saints.
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Not only has the team dealt with injuries, three starting offensive players sat out of the club’s loss to the Packers after being placed on the reserve/COVID list. Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk have returned to practice, but Kendrick Bourne was placed back on the list after testing positive after two negative results.
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“Everybody wants to say the Niners have dealt with all this kind of crap that we’ve had to deal with all year but we are still in a position to make a run here,” McGlinchey said. “And we got the right people in this building to build on that.
“When you’ve lost what we’ve lost this year, it’s really hard to maintain competitiveness and stay the course. The cool thing about it is no matter what has happened this year, we still have a chance. We still have the next seven games on this schedule and we’re in a position where we can still be in it.”
The Saints aren’t the only tough opponent left on the 49ers’ schedule. They must play all of their divisional rivals a second time and the Buffalo Bills (7-2) who sit atop of the AFC East.