Following Week 12's shutout victory of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers sit atop the NFC West with a record of 7-4. As good as the win feels for head coach Kyle Shanahan and company, Sunday's game did not come without its bad news. Unfortunately, a vital member of the Niners' offense sustained a severe injury in the contest. According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Shanahan told the media running back Elijah Mitchell suffered a potential MCL sprain in his knee.
Shanahan added that the team does not believe the injury to be as serious as the one Mitchell sustained in Week 1 vs. the Chicago Bears, so at a minimum, it is not as bad as it could be. For context, Mitchell did not return to action until Week 10 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers after his initial injury. While this diagnosis does leave room for some hope, an absence from Mitchell will be a crucial loss to the 49ers' offense.
The second-year back contributed 963 rushing yards and five touchdowns, in addition to 19 catches for 137 yards in the receiving game as a rookie in 2021, according to Pro Football Reference. After missing much of the 2022 NFL season with an injury, the 49ers sought the services of running back Christian McCaffrey, who was acquired via trade in October. The two had performed well as a backfield duo over the last three weeks. As such, that added dimension of the 49ers' offense will be missed for a while.
Without Elijah Mitchell in the lineup for a while, Kyle Shanahan will be preparing to host his former protégé Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins in Week 13 action next Sunday with an augmented game plan from the one that had been successful lately.
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