Should 49ers go all-out to win with playoffs out of reach? Of course they should

SANTA CLARA — We’re at the unfamiliar point of the where the dilemma is “to sit, or not to sit.” And not because they’re resting up for the playoffs.

49ers’ season

Peruse social media and talk radio and there’s a line of thinking that espouses keeping star players out of harm’s way. Minimize the wear and tear. Get a head start on healing the aches and pains, many of which are never publicized, during the offseason.

Treat Miami on Sunday, followed by Detroit and Arizona, as glorified exhibitions which count in the standings.

Then you get performances from and Talanoa Hufanga, players that provided an instant infusion of energy and intensity the moment they got back on the field.

Dre Greenlaw

The 49ers can find out over the next three games who they can win with and who they should build around if they hope to show that 2024 was simply a year gone bad rather than an omen of things to come.

With the 49ers on the outside looking in for some time now, perhaps the case could be made that it would have been best for Greenlaw to miss the entire season and focus on 2025. Less so with Hufanga, whose wrist injury doesn’t have the potential long-term effect as a torn Achilles.

The 49ers played them both extensively as soon as they were ready. Just as they did with Christian McCaffrey after fighting with Achilles tendinitis before a . When George Kittle and Nick Bosa have periodically missed games, there was no easing them back into the lineup. Heck, in his ankle in Week 4 and has simply played through it.

torn PCL ended his seasonFred Warner cracked a bone

The amazing thing about Greenlaw and Hufanga is how well they’ve played despite missing so much time. Greenlaw missed the first 11 games after Achilles surgery. Hufanga, recovering from a torn ACL last year has had an ankle injury as well as the wrist injury. He’s missed 21 of the 49ers’ last 25 games.

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