The 49ers have had to deal with a lot of injuries at the start of the 2024 NFL season. But it's been particularly tough for San Francisco without Christian McCaffrey on the field.The 49ers have struggled with red-zone efficiency all season, and that's largely because McCaffrey has been out since training camp.

"After five weeks of the season, the 49ers are at 2-3. Jordan Mason has been a great addition to the team, currently leading the NFL in rushing. However, it's becoming increasingly evident that the team is missing Christian McCaffrey's contribution. "We haven't had any red-zone touchdowns," Whitner said. "The reigning offensive player of the year, Christian McCaffrey, who had 21 touchdowns in 2023, scored 18 red-zone touchdowns for the 49ers.

"It's becoming more and more apparent that Christian McCaffrey's quickness, versatility, and ability to run in between the tackles and get into the end zone are going to be missed." Another area that needs improvement is catching the ball out of the backfield, which is a significant weakness in the 49ers' offense.

"Kyle Shanahan needs to come up with some creative ways to get his players in position to score touchdowns in the red zone. "Or he'll keep wasting games that they should win."

After the 2023 NFL season, they were the league's No. 1 red-zone offense. They scored touchdowns on 67.2 percent of possessions after crossing The 49ers have gone from being the best at scoring touchdowns near their opponents' 20-yard line to 30th in the league in 2024. This season, they've reached the end zone in just 40.9 percent of those situations.

McCaffrey is still out with Achilles tendinitis, so there's a real sense of urgency for San Francisco to find a solution to their season-long red-zone woes.

Coach Kyle Shanahan is one of the NFL's brightest offensive minds, but it's going to take something special to get the 49ers back into the elite tier of red-zone offenses without McCaffrey.