Even compared to the rest of the league, the injury bug really hit the Niners
Football Outsiders has a yearly offseason article where they recap the injuries from the prior NFL season. The term they use is Adjusted Games Lost, which is described as:
Adjusted Games Lost (AGL): Measurement of the cost of injuries, both in terms of missed games and games where players were not able to play to their full potential. Estimates a number of games based on whether players are listed as Probable, Questionable, Doubtful, or Out. Introduced in Pro Football Prospectus 2008 essay, “The Injury Effect.”
Like one possession games, health, turnover differential, and a handful of other stats, adjusted games lost fluctuates from year-to-year. One year you might be top-3, the next you might be middle of the pack. This years article is no different.
In 2018, the San Francisco 49ers lost a staggering 105 games to injury. 61 of those games came on offense, while 44 game on defense. 105 is up from 91 in 2017. The reason there’s been a lot of optimism is that it’s tough to replicate these year-to-year. Of course, you don’t do yourself any favors by continuing to sign players with an injury history. Even the most pessimistic Niners fan will acknowledge that the team won’t suffer the same amount of injuries in 2019. The Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts suffered more injuries, and also made the playoffs. There is hope.
As for the rest of the division, Arizona was 23rd, with 95 games lost. Seattle was 10th, with 65. The Rams were fourth, with 39.6.
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