SANTA CLARA — For the first time since the 2020 NFL season, the 49ers head into their final two games having already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Only outside the building is there talk of star players needing to protect themselves from injury by not playing in the game. In the 49ers' locker room, there is not even a hint of less pressure or effort to prepare for a Monday night visit from the Detroit Lions, especially from coach Kyle Shanahan.
“Got to tell them welcome to the reality of the world,” Shanahan said when asked how he is directing his team. “I think that's a credit to some of the situations we've been in here the last few years. But that's not the only reason you play. This is your job, you're putting on a 49er uniform.”
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Shanahan believes the 49ers' approach to the game has not changed since discovering that their playoff hopes were over just prior to kickoff of their Week 16 loss to the Dolphins. The writing already was on the wall after San Francisco's loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15.
Nick Bosa and Fred Warner both are adamant that the mentality of the locker room is as locked in as always, even with the realization that their season is over after just two more games.
“I think it’s good,” Bosa said. “It’s obviously not where you want to be this time of year. It’s different. Especially watching where we were at last year against this team. Just that feeling of December, January football is a feeling that I’ve gotten used to.
“Being really competitive and being in the mix but I think we are doing a good of staying engaged and obviously this is our job so we are going to finish it strong.”
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Warner, who has been playing with a fracture in his ankle since Week 4, would not be questioned if he sat out of the 49ers' final two games. But when talking to the All-Pro, it's obvious the thought has never -- and would never -- cross his mind.
“I could never,” Warner said. “I’m for sure going to be playing. I think there’s an integrity to the game, an integrity to your team that if you are able and willing that you have to be out there with that 49ers red on you, out on that field regardless of the situation.”
With 15 players on injured reserve and two more set to be added to the list, and one on the physically unable to perform list (PUP), it’s a different-looking roster than in Week 1, but that is not an excuse that will be used by Warner or Bosa. They'll be playing with as much effort as they would show if their chances still existed.
“All of us get into this because we want to make that tournament, and have a chance to get to a Super Bowl,” Shanahan said. “A lot of our guys haven't been in that situation before, so they're not used to it, but teams all over the league are in this situation.
“You’ve still got to go out there perform the same way because once you start thinking that there's not a reason to go out there and play your best that's when you're usually closer to the end than the beginning.”