The 49ers are 4-2 with three wins against division opponents, so in normal circumstances a 30-19 road loss to an NFC contender wouldn’t be cause for alarm.

But Sunday’s loss in Tampa Bay was anything but that at the moment Fred Warner was carted from the field with a season-ending broken and dislocated ankle. Warner is gone. Nick Bosa, who tore an ACL on Sept. 21, is gone.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Warner would have surgery Tuesday and is out for the season, with the hope of a three-month recovery and available for the offseason training camp in 2026, in some capacity.

Two irreplaceable players who in some way must be replaced. Championship aspirations have taken an undeniable hit. The 49ers are back in action Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons.

So now what? Do the 49ers re-adjust their goals? A 6-5 finish would mean 10 wins and potentially the playoffs. A 5-6 finish would mean a 9-8 overall record and … who knows?

Coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t looking at it that way.

“I don’t really try to get us to focus on anything that’s in the past, it’s what’s happening going forward,” Shanahan said Monday in his weekly conference call with local media. “The reality is we lost another really good player. What are we going to do about it? . . . what type of team are we going to be going forward? I think we have players here we can win with, but it makes it harder to make mistakes and things like that. And I thought that was something we did too much of yesterday.”

Warner stayed in character in the aftermath, addressing the team in the locker rooms and the fans and public on Instagram.

This isn’t just anyone, as evidenced by Shanahan’s reaction to how Warner is handling the injury.

“Not only is he as impressive as a football player I’ve been around, but as impressive a human as I’ve been around,” Shanahan said. “You read how he’s looking at this, and it’s as real as can be when you hear how he speaks. And that’s why we know he’ll come back next year stronger than ever.”

Linebacker Tatum Bethune will step in and start. Bethune finished with a team-high 10 tackles but was also victimized on a 34-yard Tampa Bay touchdown from Baker Mayfield to Kameron Johnson, a play Shanahan conceded Warner probably would have diagnosed and had someone in position.

Warner’s loss exceeds that of Bosa simply because Warner was responsible for an entire unit, while Bosa put his hand down and went after the man in front of him.

Shanahan loved the fact that cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said he needed to accept more responsibility but there’s only so much he can do at cornerback.

“A ‘Mike’ linebacker directs the traffic just like a center or quarterback, so it’s more position-based,” Shanahan said. “You don’t have corners making the calls on your front and knowing where strengths and pressures come from.”

George Kittle, out since a hamstring strain in Week 1, is expected back at practice this week and could play against Atlanta. Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group

49ers triage

Shanahan said the 49ers hope tight end George Kittle will not only practice this week but face Atlanta. He has been out since a hamstring strain in the opener.

Things are less certain with quarterback Brock Purdy (turf toe).

“Hopefully he can get back and do a little more this week,” Shanahan said.

Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. (knee) will be evaluated during the course of the week. Rookie wide receiver Jordan Watkins (calf) is expected to practice this week, but is likely a ways off from making his NFL debut. Left guard Ben Bartch (high ankle sprain) is not expected back this week.

Wide receiver drama

Shanahan insisted everything was fine with wide receiver Jauan Jennings, with whom he had a sideline spat Sunday near the end of the first half.

Jennings declined to address it afterward and said he’d been playing with five broken ribs, a shoulder injury and both high and low ankle sprains.

“Jauan’s a very emotional player and that’s one of the things that makes him great,” Shanahan said. “Anytime you have a tough loss and he’s banged up and playing through a lot of stuff, I don’t think he’s in the best mood. I know he’ll battle to do it again this week. I hope he can get healthier and get back out there and be more consistent for us.”

Meanwhile, Brandon Aiyuk remains on the Physically Unable to Perform list while rehabbing a torn ACL and MCL.

Shanahan said Aiyuk has been working hard and the 49ers hoped he may return around Week 10 but there is still no definitive timetable.

Missing one man

The 49ers were one man short on what defensive end Mykel Williams called a “substitution error” on the play Warner was injured. Unengaged tackle Tristan Wirfs was involved in the play that injured Warner, as was safety Ja’Ayir Brown.

“We didn’t realize it until the snap, and needed 11 out there,” Shanahan said. “I would have called timeout if I saw it, but I didn’t, and it was an unfortunate mistake.”

SNAP JUDGMENTS

A look at who played and how much in Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

69: Mac Jones as well as the entire offensive line played every snap.

64: Funny how that whole “spell Christian McCaffrey” plan evaporates on a weekly basis after kickoff. Brian Robinson played just five snaps and never carried the ball. It was all McCaffrey (17 rushes, 54 yards) and Jones (5 rushes, 13 yards). Robinson did return two kickoffs for 52 yards.

Related Articles

49ers’ Fred Warner already looking to “legendary” return from season-ending ankle injury

Inman: 10 things that caught my eye in 49ers’ loss besides missing-man formation on Warner play

49ers report card: Pass-game miscues add to the misery after Warner injury

Is Shanahan sideline spat the beginning of the end for Jennings and the 49ers?

Kurtenbach: Fred Warner’s season-ending injury is a breaking point for the 49ers’ season

55: Kendrick Bourne caught five passes for 142 yards and was targeted nine times. Some of Jennings’ frustration may stem from the fact that he played 53 snaps himself and was targeted only three times, catching one pass for seven yards.

53: Four defenders played every snap — Brown, Dee Winters, Deommodore Lenoir, and Renardo Green. Brown’s previous high was 25 snaps against Arizona. Brown earned the starting role over Jason Pinnock.

45: Bethune’s previous high was 39 snaps in last season’s finale against Arizona. He hadn’t played on defense since three snaps in Week 1 against Seattle. He had 10 tackles, five unassisted, against Tampa Bay.

42: With Pearsall on the mend, Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a season-high 60.9 snap percentage. He was targeted three times and caught two passes for 22 yards.

40: Sam Okuayinonu had the most snaps among defensive linemen, two more than Mykel Williams.

32: Safety Marques Sigle was off the field for 21 snaps, the first time he’s been substituted for all season.

21: Malik Mustapha had one tackle and one assisted tackle in his debut after ACL surgery last January. Mustapha, Shanahan said, will eventually be a starter and alternating him with Sigle has him headed him in that direction.

8: The final snaps of the season for Warner.

0: Pinnock was benched after playing every defensive snap through five games. He played two snaps on special teams. Shanahan said Pinnock could move into the “big nickel” role Brown was playing, but that alignment wasn’t used against Tampa Bay.