Long injury reports have followed the San Francisco 49ers for three straight seasons, and 2026 opened the same way before the team had even played a down.

Alfred Collins tore his patellar tendon at practice in Melbourne the week of the opener, ending his season before the 49ers took the field against the Rams.

Even so, Kyle Shanahan’s team has played the first half of the season like one that refuses to use the trainer’s room as an excuse.

Coming off its bye, San Francisco sits at 6-1 and No. 1 in the NFC as it gets ready to host the 4-4 Las Vegas Raiders at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

The defensive line took the worst of it early. Within the first two weeks, Collins, Sam Okuayinonu, C.J. West, James Thompson Jr., and rookie Romello Height were all hurt, and then Nick Bosa pulled his calf while warming up for practice ahead of Week 3.

That one hurt most, since Bosa had worked his way back from the torn ACL that cost him nearly all of 2025 and had looked like his old self in the first two games.

Rather than falling apart, Raheem Morris’ defense leaned on Mykel Williams, Keion White, and Khalid Kareem, and the 49ers kept winning.

They outlasted Arizona 36-30, handled Denver 24-14, and then went into Seattle and beat the defending Super Bowl champions 32-29, which may stand as the most important result of the season so far.

The offense has dealt with the same problem at a different position group. Ricky Pearsall’s knee injury ended his season, Jake Tonges went down in Week 1, and De’Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson both landed on injured reserve with ankle injuries.

Mike Evans, the veteran brought in to give Purdy a true No. 1 target, hurt his Achilles in the Monday night win over Washington and has also been playing through a rib injury. At the same time, Deebo Samuel’s hamstring has kept him sidelined too.

Through it all, Purdy has kept the offense on schedule by spreading the ball to George Kittle, Christian Kirk, Brandin Cooks, and young players like Jordan Watkins and rookie running back Kaelon Black.

The thin roster finally caught up with them in Atlanta, where four turnovers, including two Purdy interceptions and a Kittle fumble, led to a 29-20 loss and ended the perfect start.

Because the bye came right after that loss, the 49ers should look different against Las Vegas.

Evans and Samuel are both trending toward a return; Christian McCaffrey is expected back from a mild hamstring strain, and Bosa had an extra week to let his calf heal.

Shanahan also named Marques Sigle, Luke Gifford, Garret Wallow, and West as players who could rejoin the lineup.

Holding on to the top spot will take more than one win, with a Sunday night showdown against the 6-1 Vikings on November 22 and a home rematch with Seattle a week later.

Still, if a healthier version of this team takes care of the Raiders, San Francisco will start the second half of the season looking even more like the team to beat in the NFC.