The San Francisco 49ers are not going to the playoffs and have only one game left, against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
The 49ers will be without two key players in that game. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan announced Monday that receiver Dante Pettis and running back Matt Breida will not play Sunday.
Pettis has an MCL sprain, and that injury limited him to 17 snaps against the Bears.
He finished his rookie season with 27 receptions, 467 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 12 games, including seven starts.
Breida suffered an ankle injury early in Sunday’s game against the Bears. He played only nine snaps in that game and had 20 rushing yards on four carries.
He finished his second NFL season with 814 rushing yards, 261 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 14 games, including 13 starts. He rushed for more than 100 in a game three times this season.
Breida was frequently injured in games during the season, but he was available for the next week’s games almost every time.
“I think Matt’s had a very impressive season,” Shanahan said Monday at his press conference. “He started out great filling in, losing (running back Jerick) McKinnon at the beginning of the year. I think Matt stepped in right away and played like a number one back. I think he was up there for a while close to leading the league in rushing. Got a ton of explosives. Had a good yards per carry.
“He got hurt early on. He’s battled every week to get in there and play for us. He’s ended up hurting it every week also, so it’s lingered all year. Just a credit to him to still be effective when he’s been out there and been able to help us throughout this year has been unbelievable.
“He has not been 100 percent for a while. That has affected his production. It has made it harder for him to look the same way he did at the beginning of the year. But it shows you the type of guy he is that he can still take it to a whole other level the healthier he gets for next year.”
–RB Jeff Wilson Jr. was the 49ers leading rusher on Sunday, but he had just 27 yards on 11 carries.
–TE George Kittle had seven receptions for 74 yards on Sunday. He has 1,228 receiving yards for the season, which ranks 11th in the NFL overall and second among tight ends, just 46 yards behind Kansas City’s Travis Kelce.
–QB Nick Mullens did not throw a touchdown pass on Sunday against the Bears. It was the first time in his seven games this season that he did not have a scoring throw. He has 10 TD passes and seven interceptions for the season.
–WR Kendrick Bourne had a season-high 74 receiving yards on Sunday.
–LB Elijah Lee had 12 total tackles on Sunday. It was the second consecutive week — and the third time this season — that Lee recorded double-digit tackles.
