The (5-6) San Francisco 49ers could use some good news on the injury front, especially as they face the (9-2) Buffalo Bills for Week 13 on Sunday Night Football. For instance, quarterback Brock Purdy missed their last game with a shoulder injury, another unwanted addition to their injury list, including Nick Bosa (hip and oblique), Aaron Banks (concussion), and Brandon Aiyuk (knee/out for the season). However, Purdy had received a medical green light to play on Sunday, and the 49ers have officially listed him as active against the Bills.
“49ers QB Brock Purdy is officially active,” per NFL insider Ian Rapoport on X, formerly Twitter.
Week 13: 49ers vs. Bills
Prior to their Week 13 matchup against the Bills, the 49ers have not enjoyed the season they'd expected after reaching the Super Bowl last February. Moreover, part of it is due to injury, as before Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey's Achilles injury caused him to miss a good chunk of the season, while linebacker Fred Warner played all season with a broken ankle.
Sitting on a 5-6 record, the 49ers currently don't have strong chances to make the playoffs, at least statistically. For instance, ESPN's Football Power Index has only given them a 17% chance to qualify for the postseason, with a slimmer 13% chance of winning the division.
Likewise, they sit behind the Cardinals (49%) and Seahawks (24.9%). Meanwhile, FTN's DVOA has given them only an 11.5% chance to make the playoffs, a 7.9% chance to clinch the NFC West, and a 3.6% chance to claim a wild-card spot. At this point, the 49ers are dead last in the NFC West.
Hope?
Still, the team itself hasn't run out of hope. Besides the injuries, they have six games left to figure it out and fix the on-field issues that have plagued them all season: needless penalties, turnovers, missed tackles, a lacking special teams, among others.
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However, tight end George Kittle still believes in their roster.
“We still have a lot of very talented players,” he said after the Green Bay Packers whipped them 38-10, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “We will get some guys back and I still have full trust in the coaching staff to put our guys in position to make plays and I've got no worry about that. But definitely an uphill grind and going to see what we're made of, which I'm looking forward to.”
The 49ers are not in a good spot, and the percentages aren't on their side, but at least they have six games to catch up or overtake most of their competition in the NFC West. With a pinch of luck, they might still salvage a disappointing season.
