The frustration for coach Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers grew after the news that star defensive tackle Javon Hargrave will probably miss the rest of the season due to a partially torn triceps.
This follows their recent 27-24 loss, where the defense allowed four consecutive scoring drives at the end of the game.
Shanahan confirmed that Hargrave will need surgery and will be out for several months. While there’s a chance he could return if the 49ers make a deep playoff run, the team is preparing to move forward without him for now.
“It’s a big one,” Shanahan said Monday. “I thought he had his best game yesterday. I thought he was a huge factor, really affected the quarterback in that game. It’s a big loss.
He’s one of our better players. He was definitely going in the right direction and was going to have a big year.”
This injury is the latest blow to the 49ers (1-2), who have already seen stars like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle miss time. Last season, these key players were mostly healthy.
“This year has been totally different to start out,” Shanahan said.
“So that’s been real tough. I’d like to try to stay positive with it that all of them eventually are going to come back, but that probably changed with Hargrave today. So that was a tough pill to swallow there. We definitely haven’t had the luck that we had last year.”
The defense has also faced challenges early this season. Shanahan’s decision to fire coordinator Steve Wilks and promote Nick Sorensen has not yet shown positive results after three games.
San Francisco is allowing 6.11 yards per play, marking one of the worst starts in franchise history. The defense has struggled with big plays recently, including a significant moment on Sunday when cornerback Charvarius Ward allowed a 50-yard pass that set up the tying touchdown.
The defense might have been in a better position if Jake Moody had made a 55-yard field goal on the previous drive. They also might not have needed to stop the opposing team again if Ronnie Bell had not dropped a pass that would have put the 49ers in position for a game-winning field goal.
