The San Francisco 49ers dropped out of first place in the NFC West with their 26-15 loss to the Houston Texans. The team fell to 5-3 with a lot of holes wearing incredibly thin with 10 weeks remaining in the NFL season.

It begs the question – what should the Niners do at the Nov. 4 trade deadline? When Nick Bosa went down, the immediate thought was to find a star pass rusher to keep season goals alive. Then Fred Warner went down. That made things pause a bit.

Then they won against the Atlanta Falcons anyways. But the three additional defensive injuries that took place in the loss to the Texans just made things unbearable.

It’s a team that feels hollow, and of course it does – it’s not the intended roster head coach Kyle Shanahan thought he’d be employing to make the playoffs. To say injuries have been decimating is frankly an understatement.

And yet, San Francisco is still holding on to the final NFC Wild Card spot. They have an opportunity this Sunday against the New York Giants to really assess the viability of this season. A win keeps all hopes alive. But it’s becoming clear that this team needs more than that.

This current 49ers squad doesn’t have the personnel or juice to make a comeback should they fall in deficits. That was clear against Houston. Even when all of the offensive pieces return, it leaves a defense that can’t be trusted to be complementary with all the holes.

Of course Robert Saleh struggled to scheme up a defensive front absent Bosa, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Bryce Huff. Of course San Francisco couldn’t afford to lose defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, and linebacker Dee Winters midgame.

A lot of teams would throw in the towel here, but the Niners have strung together enough wins to try to figure this season out regardless. They’ve shown grit and toughness and a will to keep winning. They just might need to add a piece at the deadline to do so.

A loss to the Giants might make that feel moot – or it might become clear that this season is a wash without dipping into some capital and trying to secure a pass rusher on Nov. 4. It’s a defense led by youngsters, and in order to do true evaluation of that developing talent, they need a chance to swim. Sunday made it clear how easy it is for them to sink.