Before the San Francisco 49ers beat, and beat up on, the Chicago Bears, 38-13, on Sunday, they held their normal night before the game team meeting Saturday night.
“We said some things,” said QB Brock Purdy. “I was just trying to keep it real and remind guys this isn’t easy. This job isn’t for everybody, but who we have in this building, we have what it takes. And we’ve shown that the last couple years and we’ve just got to dig deep and find ourselves…Really I was just talking to myself too, not just trying to preach to the guys, but remind myself of how hard this thing is and how much of a competitor you’ve got to be for four quarters…Nothing’s ever given to you.”
Along with Purdy, Kyle Shanahan asked CB Deommodore Lenoir to speak the team.
“Every time you get in a meeting as a coach, you want to figure out something that’s going to affect the players,” said Shanahan “…There’s very rarely some special words that changes how guys play. But we did talk about the importance of this, where we were at.
“Regardless of the result, I wanted to make sure that we came out today and just showed grit. We wanted to fight. And these last two weeks, just not making it a game, was something we weren’t proud of and we were ready to battle today.”
Where they were at was 5-7, coming off three losses and knowing if they had even a modicum of hope to make the playoffs, Sunday was going to have to be a win.
“Losing that close one against Seattle in the last play at home was so tough,” Shanahan said after the game. “And then the following two weeks were as bad as it got, so we had to step it up today. Wanted to play well. I thought we did play well, and the most important thing was getting a win and we got it done. I was proud of the guys, the way they came out and the way they finished.”
The 49ers had potentially their best drive of the season to start the game, and it ended in a seven-yard touchdown reception from WR Jauan Jennings, his first of two on the day. Then the defense came in and forced a three-and-out, and it was evident these 49ers were not last week’s 49ers. They led 24-0 at halftime.
With both Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason going on Injured Reserve this week, it was rookie Isaac Guerendo’s first game as RB1. He ended the day with 15 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns, as well as 50 receiving yards. He was a wide receiver, and a good one, in high school.
“We were just able to keep our foot on the gas pedal,” Guerendo said. “Also, our defense kept putting us in a great position. They were getting stops when they needed. Playing complementary football always helps.”
Guerendo left the game in the second half with what the believe is a foot sprain, but he said after the game that “everything was fine.”
Jennings continues his case – a case he’s essentially won – as WR1 with seven receptions for 90 yards and the aforementioned two touchdowns.
“It felt like we were our old selves again,” Jennings said. “… Kyle was calling plays, dialing them up. The ball was moving. I don’t think anything too special. We just came out there and executed the game plan.” For the 49ers recently, being able to execute is pretty special.
After rarely being targeted in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, TE George Kittle had six receptions on six targets for 151 yards.
“We still have everything in front of us to play for,” Kittle said. “I know certain things might need to happen, but if we win every single game…we’ve put ourselves in a very good position to either win the division or somehow sneak our way into playoff contention.”
Purdy again showed why the 49ers see him as their franchise quarterback, and finished the day 20-of-25 for 325 yards, two touchdowns and a rating of 145.4. In the first half, he was 16-of-18 for 258 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 155.8.
While the San Francisco offense amassed 319 net yard in the first half (the most in the NFL in the first half this season), the San Francisco defense the Chicago offense to four, yes four, total net yards in the first half, the fewest by any team this season. A tale of two franchises.
Overall, the 49ers sacked Bears’ rookie quarterback Caleb Williams six times, with Yetur Gross-Matos registering three of them, Leonard Floyd two and Maliek Collins one. All of this without Nick Bosa.
Kittle is right. Everything is still in front of them, but they will need help. The Seattle Seahawks lead the division at 8-5 and have a better in-division record than San Francisco. They have two tough games coming up, but the 6-7 49ers don’t have it so easy either.
They’ll host the 7-6 Rams, whom they lost to earlier in the season, Thursday night. Then, it’s on the road to face the Miami Dolphins, home against the Detroit Lions and on to Arizona to finish out the season against the Cardinals. The chances are slim, but the chances exist.
George Kittle talks about last night’s team meeting in which Brock Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir spoke at Kyle Shanahan’s request. pic.twitter.com/09siQAFHCv
— Tracy Sandler (@TracyFGSN) December 9, 2024
This game probably says more about the Bears than the 49ers, but San Francisco had a different energy, a different fight, a different “grit” than they’ve shown since maybe Week 5 against the Cowboys. And no matter how this season ends, new leaders and new voices are stepping up.
“There’s no magical rah-rah speech or anything like that,” Kittle said. “It’s just the fact that it means enough to them that that when Kyle asked them to speak that they say, ‘yes, I would love to speak in front of the team’ and so I think just that in itself definitely motivates the boys.”