The Denver Broncos first six games in the 2026 NFL Season are absolutely the hardest in the NFL. Fortunately, things get a lot easier after that, but those first six games are quite insane. With that being said, the Broncos won 14 games last year for a reason, so this team will hang in there and could win 4 of 5 of those first six games.
In Week 4, the Broncos play the San Francisco 49ers, which would be the first time these two teams have met in the regular season in the Sean Payton era. The 49ers won 12 games last year and advanced into the Divisional Round of the playoffs, falling to the Seattle Seahawks.
Well, it's very early in training camp, but unfortunately for the 49ers, the injury bug has already bit them in a big way.
Denver Broncos Week 4 opponent is already dealing with the injury bug early in camp
Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who had only played 20 games across his first two seasons, is already out for the 2026 campaign:
49ers place WR Ricky Pearsall on season-ending injured reserve. pic.twitter.com/L38UUvrJTj
— NFL (@NFL) August 1, 2026
Pearsall has still been a productive player for the 49ers in his limited action, and he surely was slated to play a huge role on offense for the 49ers this year. Not only that, but one of their rookies, Mikail Kamara, was carted off with a knee injury on Saturday, and the team is already thin with their pass-rushers to begin with:
Rookie DE Mikail Kamara was just carted off the field with an apparent leg/knee issue. With Cam Sample (knee), Romello Height (unknown), Mykel Williams not practicing and Nick Bosa limited to individual drills, the 49ers are reaching a critical low on the Edge.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 1, 2026
For the 49ers, injuries have been a major story for years now. This team just has not been able to consistently stay healthy in the Kyle Shanahan era, and it's something that some are even attributing to the electrical substation nearby, but there is nothing substantive out there that would indicate the substation impacts player injuries.
The 49ers did bring former wide receiver Deebo Samuel back into the mix. He had spent the 2025 season with the Washington Commanders, For the 49ers, is still many of the same faces in Samuel, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and others.
But if this injury bug carries over into the 2026 season, the Broncos might be seeing an abbreviated version of the team. With that being said, injuries happen to every team, so the Broncos will have their share.
It's the brutal part of the game that no team can escape. Ftnfantasy.com noted that the 49ers had the 5th-most adjusted games lost in the NFL during the 2025 season. On that note, teams like the New England Patriots, Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, and Jacksonville Jaguars were among the healthiest teams in the league last year.
It's not necessarily a massive coincidence that the teams that remain the healthiest end up making it the furthest.
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