The San Francisco 49ers, 5-5 and in last place in the NFC West, desperately need a win if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Now, they have an even steeper uphill climb after it was announced two of their stars will not play Sunday.
Quarterback Brock Purdy and defensive end Nick Bosa will be sidelined this weekend with injuries against the Green Bay Packers.
Purdy, who is dealing with a shoulder injury in his throwing arm, was a limited participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday. After getting an MRI, he did not practice Friday. Bosa did not practice all week with his hip/oblique injury.
On top of that, Trent Williams did not practice for a third consecutive day as he deals with an ankle injury, but he is listed as questionable.
The Niners have been plagued by injuries all season. Christian McCaffrey did not see the field until Week 10, and Brandon Aiyuk tore an ACL earlier this season. Tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel have also missed time.
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Green Bay cornerback Jaire Alexander will also miss the gane with a hamstring injury.
Brandon Allen will start under center for the 49ers.
The injuries will make the 49ers underdogs for the first time since 2022. They had been favorites in 36 consecutive games, the longest streak in the Super Bowl era.
Purdy is completing 66.0% of his passes this year and has thrown for 2,613 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Bosa has at least a half sack in each of his last four games and at least one in his last three. He has seven overall on the season and aims to make his fifth Pro Bowl in six seasons.
NFL.com says the Niners have a 30% chance of making the playoffs. They currently sit in the 10th seed, and a win would bump those odds up to 48%. A loss would give them just a 15% chance at the postseason.
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