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The San Francisco 49ers have managed to turn things around in recent weeks, winning three of their last four games and scoring 30-or-more points in each of those victories. It's been quite a turnaround for a team that looked to be spiraling downward about a month ago. If the season ended today, the 49ers would be No. 6 seed in the NFC and are now just a game back of the Los Angeles Rams, who have lost three straight.
Much of the credit for the 49ers' turnaround has to go to head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was heavily criticized by fans not too long ago.
"Yeah, you lose four games in a row, I'm the head coach of this team, I expect [the criticism],
and I deserve it," Shanahan said on October 24 after an embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The 49ers' season looks brighter now. Longtime scribe, Peter King, named Shanahan his Coach of the Week in his latest
Football Morning in America column for NBC Sports.
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The season was on the brink three weeks ago this morning," wrote King. "The Niners had just lost to Arizona to fall to 0-4 at home and 3-5 overall, and the big, bad Rams were due in Santa Clara the following Monday. Shanahan was 34-41 as a head coach, and he seemed headed to his fourth losing season out of five.
"In the three games since, the Niners have been one of football's most efficient teams, turning it over once, scoring 31, 31, and 34 points, and running for 536 yards in those three wins. Shanahan has managed Jimmy Garoppolo superbly, and the embattled quarterback is playing his best since midway through 2019."
Next up for San Francisco are the 3-7 Seattle Seahawks, who always play the 49ers tough and have won the last three contests between the two teams and four of the previous five. After that, it will be the Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, and Rams to close out the season.
"Strong run game with the Niners' last pick in the 2021 draft,
Elijah Mitchell, forced into action and playing great (693 yards, 4.8 per rush), under the tutelage of 72-year-old running backs coach Bobby Turner," King added. "And Jimmy Garoppolo, the undisputed starter, has turned it over once in the last three games—not coincidentally, all wins."
The 49ers didn't escape the Vikings game unscathed. Wide receiver
Deebo Samuel, who has looked more like a running back in recent weeks, is undergoing an MRI for a groin injury. Linebacker
Fred Warner is also being examined after exiting the game with a hamstring injury.
"The Niners cannot afford Deebo Samuel's groin injury to be serious," King noted. "He's turned into a first-class phenom, averaging 18.0 yards per catch and 8.1 yards per rush. Road games at the Bengals, Titans and Rams will test them, but I see the Niners as a threatening sixth seed in a weakened NFC."
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
Last week, it was reported that the San Francisco 49ers planned to host former Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips on a pre-draft visit. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo confirms that the visit will take place during the upcoming week, which marks the final opportunity for such visits to occur.
Phillips will also meet with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans this week.
Adding a noteworthy tidbit to the social media post, Garafolo mentions, "A likely second-round pick, though some evaluators have first-round grades on
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
