It's possible the past week will go down as a point in time when a new wave of vocal leaders came to the forefront for the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers have long been a team with authoritative and charismatic veteran team leaders, among them linebacker Fred Warner, tight end George Kittle, running back Christian McCaffrey, and left tackle Trent Williams. But at a team meeting the night before their game this week against the Chicago Bears, two of the 49ers' younger standouts -- quarterback Brock Purdy and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir -- were among those to say some words to help fire up the team.
It worked, as the 49ers turned in their most dominant performance of the season in a 38-13 win over the Bears, which was a much-needed outcome following blowout road losses to the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills that put their playoff hopes in jeopardy.
"I think the message was we need to play with more of a sense of urgency and play desperate because you just haven't really sensed that," Kittle told reporters after the win over the Bears on Sunday. "I've been on teams where it felt like -- was it two years ago we won a whatever, like eight, nine-game win streak, wherever that was -- and it literally felt like every play people were just scratching, climbing, and fighting for everything.
"And I'm not going to call anybody out. We're all not taking a play off but just not (fighting) our hardest on every given play. And that was kind of the message.
Guys just put it all out there because we have the players, we have the playmakers, we have the play calling, and we have everything to win games. But we have to do it out of desperation. And when you're playing desperate and you're playing like, 'Hey, if we don't win this game, our season potentially is over,' that desperation fuels guys in different ways. And it's just how you take that and how you channel that energy, and I thought our guys did a great job of that today."
Kittle was among those to speak to the team in the meeting ("He always gives us the best pregame speeches, so it was definitely a help this week," wide receiver Jauan Jennings said about Kittle), but the fact that Lenoir and Purdy were among those to join in seemed to mean something extra. Purdy was voted a team captain before the season, but giving speeches in front of the rest of the team hasn't always been part of his modus operandi.
"Kyle (head coach Kyle Shanahan) doesn't always have players speak... but he used to when he was first starting off as a head coach. He would have vets talk about things that were important to them and why they play the game," Kittle told reporters after the win over the Bears on Sunday. "And he hasn't done it for a while, but yeah, he had D-Mo (get) up and talk. And, you know, D-Mo's not really -- while he looks loud while he's on the football field, he's lead by example, lead (by) the way that he plays. But when you give guys like that an opportunity to speak in front of the team, it means a lot to everybody watching, to everybody listening, to everybody in that room.
"And we all respect and love D-Mo. Not just how he plays, but he's a great teammate. He shows up every day, he works his tail off, and he plays the game the right way. And for him to speak and then also for Brock in front of the team, which he doesn't always do, but for him to talk -- and it doesn't really matter what they say. There's no magical rah-rah speech or anything like that. It's just the fact that it means enough to them that when Kyle asks them to speak, that they say, 'Yes, I would love to speak in front of the team,' I think just that in itself definitely motivates the boys."
Both Lenoir and Purdy provided a spark on the field as well on Sunday, as Lenoir returned to the lineup after missing a 35-10 loss in Buffalo due to a knee injury and Purdy rebounded from a subpar outing against the Bills by throwing for 325 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing. But it turns out that at least in Purdy's case, speaking to the team also served as a form of self-help that he used to remind himself about the level of intensity he'd need to win on Sunday.
"I was just trying to keep it real and remind guys, 'You know, 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 just gotta dig deep and find ourselves.' And I think we did. I think guys responded to it.
"And 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 got to be for four quarters and go and take it. Nothing's ever given to you. So it was just a reminder to myself and to our teammates of where we're at and where we're trying to go."
There was certainly a time when few people might have guessed that Lenoir and Purdy would someday be in a position to speak as team leaders, given that Lenoir was once a fifth-round draft pick that made headlines for the wrong reasons as a rookie and Purdy was the final pick in his draft class and came in with some on the outside questioning whether or not he'd even make the team. But both of them now are viewed as franchise cornerstones, with Lenoir signing a five-year, $93-million contract extension with the 49ers earlier this season and Purdy expected to get one in the coming offseason that will dwarf every other contract on the roster. And now is a perfect time for them to take steps forward as vocal leaders considering the unexpected struggles the 6-7 49ers have had at times during what was expected to be a Super Bowl-contending season.
"I think we've been needing that all year," Shanahan said Sunday. "When you want to be a leader, it starts with what you do on the field. It's got to be genuine. And when you have a certain way of playing on the field and you're out there and you do things, guys will start to look to those guys as leaders.
"And then it's kind of how you carry yourself and what you do in those moments. I think we've had a lot of guys on this team going back to even week one, that didn't expect to get a lot of opportunities maybe when we drafted them or back in training camp, and they've gotten opportunities fast. That's, I think, one of the positives, that there's a lot of guys that we do believe in, that I do believe are getting better each week, and hopefully are going to be good Niners here for a long time."
The difficulties the 49ers went through earlier in the season may mean Sunday's win could still be a case of too little, too late when it comes to playoff contention, but it was a win the team desperately needed nonetheless. The fact that two of the team's younger cornerstones helped lead the way on and off the field could prove to be an important aspect of that win for the rest of this season and beyond.
"Even though those guys don't seem young in the way that they carry themselves, the way that they played, those are younger guys that we need, that younger leadership to kind of step now and use their voice right in the moments we need it most," Warner said. "And they have, man. And it's just about executing on game day. You know, all the rah-rah speeches are great and all, but at the end of the day, you got to go out there, you got to play."
