The San Francisco 49ers might be back in B.C. times — before Christian McCaffrey — when they visit the Minnesota Vikings next week.

After Sunday’s 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers running back, who’d accounted for a third of the team’s offensive output heading into the contest, was dealing with an “oblique/rib” injury. He left the game in the third quarter, and Elijah Mitchell and hard-running second-year tailback Jordan Mason filled in.

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An oblique/rib injury is how the 49ers characterized the injury quarterback Brock Purdy suffered early in a Week 14 win last season. After taking a shot to his lower left back, Purdy was able to play in the following game against the Seattle Seahawks — on a short week, no less — and looked sharp in the road win.

His availability, however, was iffy even as teammates were filing out of the locker room for pregame introductions that night. He needed a pain-killing injection just to throw, he wore a flak jacket to shield a damaged rib, and Shanahan further protected him with play calls that emphasized quick passes and gave the Seahawks little opportunity to hit him.

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That’s not an option with a running back like McCaffrey. He was in obvious pain when the camera zeroed in on his face while he was on the sideline in the third quarter. He returned for one play at the end of the quarter — a 6-yard gain that was called back because of a penalty — but then quickly left the field and missed the rest of the contest.

The 49ers had been enjoying good — and for them, rare — injury luck this season. The only starter on offense or defense who’d missed a start in the first five weeks was Brandon Aiyuk, who didn’t play a Thursday game against the New York Giants in Week 3 because of a shoulder injury. His receiver counterpart, Deebo Samuel, made up for his absence with 129 receiving yards and a touchdown.

On top of that, the 49ers had benefited from other teams’ injuries. They played the Los Angeles Rams without receiver Cooper Kupp, the Giants without Saquon Barkley and the Browns without quarterback Deshaun Watson and running back Nick Chubb. They also will avoid Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, the NFL’s receiving leader last season, after he was placed on injured reserve last week with a hamstring issue.

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That fortune, however, flickered in Cleveland.

• Left tackle Trent Williams suffered a right ankle injury in the first quarter when Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris crashed into the side of his leg. Jaylon Moore filled in at left tackle on the next play, though Williams was back for the next series. He faced Browns edge defender Myles Garrett for most of the game. Garrett, who had 5 1/2 sacks entering the game, was his disruptive self against the 49ers but was held to three tackles, one hit on the quarterback and no sacks.

“It didn’t feel good at all,” said Williams, who was in an orthopedic boot after the game. “It’s football. I just tried to fight through it for my teammates. They’ve got a Hall of Fame rusher over there in (No.) 95, and I wanted to get back out there so I could kind of help my team try to contain him. I didn’t want to put Jaylon in that position.”

Trent Williams returned after injuring his ankle but was wearing a boot after the game. (Ken Blaze / USA Today)

• Samuel left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. The NFL Network reported that initial X-rays of the shoulder were negative and that the receiver would have more tests this week.

Sunday’s matchup — against a fierce, penetrating defense — seemed custom-made for Samuel, who gained the bulk of his yards against an aggressive Giants defense after quick throws from Purdy. As soon as Samuel left Sunday’s game, the offense wobbled.

The 49ers tried to run a trick play involving his backup, Ray-Ray McCloud III, but McCloud collided with Williams while trying to get in position for a backward pass from Purdy. McCloud also seemed out of position on a late, first-half snap on which the 49ers were flagged for delay of game.

“I thought we made way too many mistakes on offense,” said Shanahan, who looked as upset as he has all season due to officiating and offensive ineptitude. “Just losing a couple guys in the game, we had to switch a couple guys around, and we weren’t quite ready for that.”

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• The 49ers began the contest without linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who was out with a hamstring injury. Oren Burks filled in. He seemed to have a point-blank sack opportunity against P.J. Walker in the fourth quarter but whiffed when Walker stepped forward in the pocket. Meanwhile, the 49ers defense had trouble stopping the Browns’ stretch runs all afternoon. Cleveland finished with 160 rushing yards on 34 carries versus 108 yards on 25 carries for the 49ers.

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“They were getting the edge on us, which is something we take pride in — setting edges and turning things back into the teeth of the defense,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “They did a really good job of scheming us up.”

Bosa said he didn’t think the 49ers “deserved to win” Sunday.

“It’s definitely a learning experience of how teams are going to attack us, especially teams that know our scheme,” he said. “Because they run a similar scheme. We just have to take it as a learning experience.”

Still, Bosa and the defense held the Browns to 19 points and had two interceptions, one that cornerback Deommodore Lenoir returned to the 8-yard line, which set up a nicely blocked touchdown run by Mason on the next play.

JP to the house! 🏠 @jpmason27

📺 #SFvsCLE on FOX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4nCVJ pic.twitter.com/fIze4q39Tq

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 15, 2023

The 49ers lost because an offense that had been averaging 403 yards and 33.4 points a game could muster only 215 yards and 17 points Sunday.

McCaffrey’s and Samuel’s absences were a big part of that. Since the offseason practices began in May, it was clear that McCaffrey would be the focal point of Shanahan’s attack this season, and the tailback’s success over the first five weeks put him in the conversation for league MVP.

But the 49ers’ emphasis on McCaffrey also attracted the attention of opposing defenses, which have been intent on roughing him up in recent weeks.

Since Week 3, defensive players have racked up more than $75,000 in fines due to illegal hits on McCaffrey or gestures toward him. That kitty is likely to grow this week after the Browns were flagged for a pair of face mask fouls against McCaffrey on San Francisco’s opening drive. The infractions helped set up a 13-yard Purdy-to-McCaffrey shovel-pass touchdown, the 15th straight game in which McCaffrey has scored. That puts him two away from Baltimore Colts running back Lenny Moore’s 1964 record.

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The silver lining for a possible McCaffrey absence is that the 49ers are deeper at running back than they’ve ever been under Shanahan, including in 2021 when Samuel had to moonlight as a tailback in the second half of the season.

Mitchell, who was the Week 1 starter last season, was back from a knee injury Sunday and should be further along with the injury when the 49ers play the Vikings next Monday. The team also has Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price on the active roster and Jeremy McNichols on the practice squad.

All of them have spent the offseason training in a McCaffrey-based offense, one in which the tailbacks are expected to be a big part of the passing game and the running game. Mason in particular has made strides as a route runner and pass catcher, and he has looked strong in the past two games. He entered Sunday’s contest ahead of Mitchell and had five carries for 27 yards.

Run game coordinator Chris Foerster said recently that Mason has improved “greatly” from last year.

“He really has. Have you noticed it? Do you see it?” Forrester said, smiling, last week. “He just keeps getting better and better and better at it. And gosh, he’s a serious-minded, hardworking guy. It’s very important to him to do it right. And he just continues to improve.”

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(Top photo of Christian McCaffrey: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

“The Football 100,” the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Preorder it here.

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