Would it have been a different season if Josh Dobbs had started against the Packers?

It’s easy to play the hindsight game, but Dobbs looked more effective on one drive against Detroit than Allen did for most of the game against Green Bay

If there were a loss where the concern for the 2024 49ers started to creep in, it would be the Week 5 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

The 49ers stumbled out of the gate, going 1-2 at the start of the season after a disappointing loss to the future division winners, the Los Angeles Rams. San Francisco appeared to get back on track by dominating a lesser Patriots team before the Week 5 divisional matchup.

The 49ers were still on track as Mitch Wishnowsky hit a 26-yard field goal at the half to give the 49ers a 23-10 lead. That ended up being San Francisco’s last score of the game, as Arizona scored 14 unanswered in the second half to win 24-23, and the 49ers never could get back on track.

With San Francisco trying to make up for the Week 5 loss in a meaningless Week 18 rematch, here are the numbers to know:

12

The 49ers have 12 players on this week’s injury report who have played meaningful snaps this season, including seven who didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday.

With the regular season ending on Sunday and the 49ers out of the race, players with any type of injury can take the week – and the rest of the season – off to avoid further injury. The 49ers injury report includes 15 names, including key contributors Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, Deommodore Lenoir, and Nick Bosa, who missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Purdy has already been ruled out – more on that in a minute – but the 49ers will likely have plenty of unfamiliar faces lining up against the Cardinals, trying to work their way into the 49ers’ plans for next season.

The injury report also gives Arizona the advantage, as it enters Sunday in a much better spot in terms of health than the 49ers. The Cardinals have just six names, with five participating in practice on Thursday in some capacity.

11

The highest the 49ers can climb in the draft with a loss on Sunday is the 11th pick.

That’s where they sit after Week 17, so there is no ground to gain with an extra loss. There is, however, room to fall, with Arizona, Indianapolis, and Dallas sitting at seven wins as well. With a win, San Francisco could fall as far as three picks to 14 because of the strength of the schedule.

That is not an endorsement to tank to ensure the best pick, as the aforementioned injury report for both teams might be enough to lock up the 11th pick. With 11 being the highest the 49ers can climb, that adds to just how bad San Francisco’s season has been. Essentially, the Niners picked a bad season to be bad.

For the 2024 NFL draft, two teams—the Giants and Titans — finished with six wins and were awarded selections six and seven. One team had six wins for the 2023 draft, and the Raiders selected Tyree Wilson with the seventh pick. The same was the case in 2022 when the Bears were the lone team to finish with six wins, but the Giants took the pick in part of the trade that allowed Chicago to move up for Justin Fields.

You’d have to go back to the 2021 draft to find a team with six wins drafting as far back as the 49ers might have to in this year’s draft. The Giants, Dallas, and the 49ers all finished the 2020 season at 6-10, landing the three teams in the 10 through 12 spots in the draft. All three teams also traded away from those picks, with varying success, with Dallas trading back for Micah Parsons, New York trading down for Kadarius Toney, and the 49ers moving up nine spots for Trey Lance.

So, while the 49ers would most benefit from a loss on Sunday, it won’t matter if the 49ers pick 11th or 14th if they don’t use the selection wisely in April.

15

Sunday will mark Jousha Dobbs’ 15th career start.

With Purdy out on Sunday, Dobbs – passed over by Brandon Allen in the 49ers loss to the Green Bay Packers – will get the nod against the team he started Week 1 of the 2023 season for.

The 49ers got blown out by Green Bay, and Allen’s turnovers didn’t help. Judging by the way Dobbs looked against the Lions, it’s easy to conclude that he should have started against the Packers. If that were the case, perhaps we’d be discussing how the 49ers have a chance to get into the playoffs.

Arizona brought Dobbs to start a few games while Kyler Murray was recovering from a knee injury. Dobbs led the Cardinals to a 1-7 record in his eight starts. After Murray recovered and was back in the lineup, Arizona moved Dobbs to Minnesota, which needed a quarterback after Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles.

Six days after the trade, Jaren Hall got hurt against the Falcons, forcing Dobbs into the lineup just a week after his last start with the Cardinals. Dobbs shined, throwing for 158 yards on 30 attempts with a pair of touchdowns, leading the Vikings to a 31-28 win. The Dobbs magic would last another week before Dobbs would be benched during a Vikings 3-0 win over the Raiders, and the quarterback hasn’t taken the field since.

That is, until Sunday when Dobbs hopes to begin the Sam Darnold path – start a meaningless Week 18 game for the 49ers before hitting free agency, get the starting job, and lead his team to victory over the 49ers during a 14-2 season.