The San Francisco 49ers' injury list is nearly as long as a poem by Homer.
Heading into Sunday's game against the New York Giants, the Niners were without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tight end George Kittle, running back Raheem Mostert, pass rusher Dee Ford and linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
That was just the key players ruled out with injury. San Francisco's IR list is even longer: Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, Tevin Coleman, Deebo Samuel, Solomon Thomas, Richie James, Jalen Hurd and Tavon Austin.
The Niners have been bit by the injury bug like they're living in the jungle sans insect spray or mosquito nets.
Despite starting backup QB Nick Mullens and backups at both corner spots, not having their star tight end, and deploying a receiver corps full of No. 2 and 3 options, the 49ers still whitewashed the Giants, 36-9.
As you could imagine, the blowout win under such circumstances had coach Kyle Shanahan glowing.
"I was really happy with this week," Shanahan said after the win. "Losing that many guys last week and just the way it sort of happened made us a little bit emotional to start and pull together throughout the week. I just got a real good vibe and energy on Wednesday by the time we started practicing all the way to last night at the hotel and meetings before the game.
"Then today, I think they played very hard all four quarters. I was very proud of our team. I was last week, too, you know, the way it started last week and some of that stuff -- then to overcome that and keep grinding through it. It feels good to be back here and to do it two weeks in a row. I can't wait to get back home now."
Mullens shined, dicing up a woeful Big Blue defense to the tune of 343 yards and a TD. Jerick McKinnon (before getting injured in the fourth quarter) and Jeff Wilson split the backfield reps, and while they didn't pop a big one, it was enough balance to keep the Giants defense off-kilter. The 49ers scored on seven of nine possession and didn't punt once.
The defense missing several stars still stood out, with corner Jason Verrett stepping in superbly after his long road back from multiple injuries. San Francisco didn't give up a TD, caused two fumbles and one INT.
It wasn't just that a decimated 49ers squad won. No, what Shanahan has to be thrilled with is that his MASH unit made the Giants look like three-day-old burnt toast.
Shanahan, however, said he wasn't surprised by the performance from his backups.
"No, and it's nothing against (the Giants) at all, but we had a real good week of practice," he said. "We were pretty confident last night. I know the way it ended up, but by no means was that easy. Those drives were grinds. We didn't punt today and we didn't turn it over, but it didn't feel like that. We had to work for a lot of stuff and they kept us out of the end zone a number of times.
"Fortunately, our defense was able to get some turnovers, but, that's a good team. It got away a little bit there at the end, but I was real proud of our guys. That was our plan. We wanted to do that. We came in and wanted to do that. We thought we could do it and I was proud of the guys for pulling it off."
The blowout win while missing so many key players signifies the type of team San Francisco has and the kind of coaching staff it employs. It also speaks to how far behind the Giants are in competing.
