Getty Images

Tanks for nothing? Tanks for everything!

Although the 49ers didn’t try to earn the second overall pick in the 2019 draft by going 4-12 in 2018, it happened naturally. And it allowed them to selected defensive end Nick Bosa. And Bosa has helped fuel the 49ers to the No. 1 seed and, as of Sunday, hosting the NFC Championship.

“Things have a way of working out,” quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo told reporters on Wednesday regarding his ACL tear that sparked San Francisco’s not-so-special season. “I always told myself it was a blessing in disguise, the ACL and everything, and yeah we got Bosa out of it. That’s a pretty good trade-off I guess. Things have a way of working out I guess. This ride is crazy. You’ve just got to roll with the punches.”

Coach Kyle Shanahan agreed with the idea that the injury to Jimmy G in 2018 helped lay the foundation for a special team in 2019, and likely beyond.

“It’s definitely helped,” Shanahan told reporters. “Everything happens for a reason, and you need to get good players in, some difference-makers, and Bosa has definitely been a difference-maker. I’m very glad we have him. I don’t wish 4-12 on anybody, but after going through it, it was nice what it brought us.”

Although Shanahan surely didn’t intend to make a commercial for tanking, San Francisco’s experience underscores how losing can become #winning. So the next time your favorite team naturally or artificially falls apart in a given season, take heart. By the next season, your favorite team could be on the brink of the Super Bowl.