At an up-and-down 3-4, the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers can’t be reliably counted on as a bona fide contender. That makes Brandon Aiyuk’s season-ending knee injury an outright disaster for a Bay Area constellation of football superstars still chasing an elusive Lombardi Trophy.

San Francisco 49ers star receiver Brandon Aiyuk will miss the rest of the season after tearing ligaments in his right knee

The strength of the San Francisco 49ers' offense the past few seasons has been the number of dynamic playmakers that makes it nearly impossible to stop every option. A string of injuries has changed that equation and left the 49ers with few proven options for Brock Purdy to throw the ball to in the second half of Sunday's 28-18 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.