Sunday's performance against the Chicago Bears by the San Francisco 49ers wasn't something that most people saw coming based on the team's recent results, but it was indeed sorely needed after what happened the past three weeks.
The 49ers entered the game on a three-game losing streak, having fallen in a last-second heartbreaker to the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium in Week 11 before being completely annihilated in back-to-back road blowout losses to the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills. But it turned out the struggling Bears would give the 49ers a chance to do the annihilating, as the 49ers limited the Bears to just four total first-half yards and outgained them 452 to 162 in a 38-13 win.
"Regardless of the result, I wanted to make sure that we came out today and just showed grit," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the win on Sunday. "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. Regardless of how that went, it went as good as it could."
A large number of positives came from Sunday's win, which didn't help the 6-7 49ers gain ground on the 8-5 Seahawks in the NFC West but at the very least put them in a better mindset as they enter into the final four games of the regular season schedule. Here's a rundown of a few of them, including some big numbers from quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle, clutch performances from backup running backs Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor, and more.
Brock rebounds, with fans in his corner
As he's often done in his NFL career, Brock Purdy rebounded from a rough outing with a terrific one on Sunday, throwing for 325 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing one week after going 11-of-18 for 94 yards in a 35-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Along the way, Purdy took a nasty hit when he was sandwiched by two Bears defenders, one of whom (defensive end Darrell Taylor) took him down to the ground by the neck.
Brock Purdy -
Took a shot to his head/neck. Walked off under his own power.
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) December 8, 2024
Looks to be fine as he tosses a ball on the sideline. pic.twitter.com/uYpMMP2cIF
Purdy left the game for one play after the hit before re-entering the game to finish off what turned out to be a scoring drive.
"It was just a weird hit," Purdy said Sunday. "My body was in an awkward position, and, for me, never really been in a situation like that, so I was just, like, sort of in shock. I felt some stuff within my body, and I was just letting myself cool down.
"That's why I went out for a play and was just making sure I was being smart about it, and I was fine. My body was good and I went back in, and I'm good."
Purdy got a spark from the home crowd at Levi's Stadium when he came back onto the field to fans chanting his name. He let the fans know after the game that he appreciated the gesture.
"I'm trying to go out and do my job and execute for our team, our organization, our fans, and everybody, but just hearing them sort of have my back like that, that was pretty cool, man," Purdy said. "I love playing for this, for this organization, for our fan base, and every time I step out in that field in Levi's, I'm very thankful for it."
Sunday marked the end of a rough multi-week stretch for Purdy, who took a shoulder injury against the Seahawks that caused him to sit out during the loss in Green Bay. Coming off the blowout snow-covered loss to the Bills, Purdy showed signs of being ready to rebound against the Bears, which he did in resounding fashion.
"We want to win and Brock's as competitive as anyone I've been around," Shanahan said, "so he was real disappointed about the Seattle game and how they got away from us at the end. And then for him to come in Monday and feel the way he did was kind of a shock to him and all of us, and it didn't respond very well that week. So he wasn't able to come back versus Green Bay and get that taste out of his mouth.
"And when he did versus Buffalo, that wasn't a very fun game for obvious reasons. So he's been battling, he's been awesome in practice, he's been great in the meetings. And I was real happy for today because it seemed like he played his ass off and he was decisive in everything he did and he's always a competitor."
Big numbers for George
One of the MVPs of the win over the Bears was George Kittle, who had a number of big plays during a six-catch, 151-yard performance one week after being targeted only twice in the loss to the Bills. During the game, Kittle became the third-fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 500 career catches and 7,000 receiving yards, joining Travis Kelce and Antonio Gates, and for a while, it looked like he might even have a shot at another significant milestone.
Kittle had five catches for 138 yards in the first half against the Bears, which put him on pace to break Shannon Sharpe's single-game record for receiving yards by a tight end (214). He fell far short of that mark in the end, but his performance was impressive nonetheless.
"I had no idea how many yards I had until someone told me, like when I got pulled out in the fourth quarter," Kittle said. "So I thought I was sitting at like 80. I didn't realize a lot of those went for like 30-plus. So that was really fun. That's a fun, fun surprise to have at the end of the game."
No one was more appreciative of Kittle's performance than Purdy, who has gone to Kittle as one of his primary targets throughout the season.
"He's a baller," Purdy said. "I mean, you get the ball in his hands like that and he can get all the YAC (yards after catch) after. And he's just so explosive. For where he's at in his career, to continue to put up those kinds of numbers and be that dominant, it's a pretty sweet thing."
Happy returns
The 49ers got a big boost in the secondary on Sunday with the return of safety Talanoa Hufanga, who returned to action after spending several weeks on injured reserve with a wrist injury. The sight of Hufanga was a welcome one for a 49ers team that has been decimated by injuries throughout the season.
"I was just pumped to get Huf out there in uniform," Shanahan said. "We weren't sure how it was going to go this week with him being back for practice and we thought he looked real good. And then when he told me the confidence he had to play on Friday, I was pumped to start him. So just to get him out there, I thought just the emotions of it sparked our team. It looked like he played real well, just from what I saw live.
"I'll see more on the tape, but just the type of guy Huf is and getting him back out on the field with us throughout the week and then in that game I think fired our guys up."
Hufanga told reporters he was careful about his situation in the days leading up to the game and was pleased with how things turned out for him on Sunday.
"I had conversations with Kyle," Hufanga said. "I was being smart and I felt good. I felt ready to go. Obviously, I didn't practice too much, but I definitely did stay in my playbook, stayed in the film and I think that's what keeps me up to speed. Coming out here today, I played as much as I felt like I could play and was really happy about it for sure."
The 49ers could get another key player back this week in linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who has been recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in last season's Super Bowl. No one is more excited to see Greenlaw back than linebacker Fred Warner, who was visibly emotional when Greenlaw sustained the injury while entering the game from the sidelines.
"It means everything," Warner said. "You know, I've been waiting for that moment for the entire season, right? And so to potentially have him out there again with me, it means everything."
Running in the clutch
Things have been going in the opposite direction injury-wise for the 49ers at running back, where Christian McCaffrey (knee) and Jordan Mason (ankle) have been lost to injured reserve. Those absences led to the first career start for rookie Isaac Guerendo, as well as extended playing time for new No. 2 back Patrick Taylor.
Guerendo finished with 15 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns, with two catches for 50 yards before leaving the game with a foot sprain. Taylor had seven carries for 25 yards and one touchdown. Guerendo received praise from Kittle after the game, who was impressed with a 27-yard catch Guerendo hauled in near the end zone during the first half.
"You know what my first question was? When he was going to start, I was like, 'How well can he catch?' Because that's a big thing on our offense," Kittle said. "And I think he proved that today that he can catch. Like that one down in the sun, you could not see anything in that corner, and he caught that, which was awesome. I'm pumped that Brock gave him an opportunity on that.
"And then he ran his tail off. So all I've been preaching to Isaac is, 'Hey, man, just run really, really fast and hold on to the football, and you're going to get a lot of yards. And I thought he did a really good job of that today."
Kittle has been impressed throughout the year with the speedy Guerendo, who has shown the ability to thrive in a feature-back role when given the opportunity. Seeing Taylor get a chance made Kittle happy as well.
"When you run .01 seconds faster than Raheem Mostert, you're doing something right," Kittle said. "And then you throw a little build onto that too, so you can take some hits. That's all great. We've just got to keep running him so he gets more and more confident in both his ability and in our offense, so he could seize all the lanes and stuff like that. Just really happy with his performance today, and then when Pat came in at the end, too, I was so pumped for him, too, to score a touchdown."
Taylor will obviously have a bigger role if Guerendo's foot issue keeps him on the sidelines. The 49ers signed Taylor for depth over the offseason after he spent three years with the Packers in a reserve and special teams role, but he wasn't initially expected to contribute much on offense due to the presence of McCaffrey, Mason, Elijah Mitchell, and Guerendo.
"I think you guys saw a little bit today when we give Patrick runs, going back to the preseason and in practice, he's a good runner," Shanahan said to reporters Sunday. "He hits the right spots, he runs hard. So he's a guy who can definitely help us.
"And, you know, he had some big carries, I want to say, versus Seattle. I think it was when JP went out and he was spelling Isaac and he had to spell Isaac today. When he went in, he did a good job on all his opportunities."
Don't worry about Ricky
Rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall looked like he was on his way to becoming a significant contributor in the 49ers' offense after catching four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in the 49ers' November 10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But then he went catchless for three consecutive games before catching one pass for five yards against the Bears.
Despite a quiet month from Pearsall, Kittle told reporters Sunday he wasn't worried about the rookie "at all" and that he's maintained a positive attitude throughout his lack of involvement.
"You know what's great about Ricky is that he hasn't brought that up once," Kittle said. "He shows up every single day to practice and in the building with a huge smile on his face and is very eager to be in the meetings, very eager to get on the practice field and just go run routes... This week he had like 100-plus yards a day running great routes and stuff like that. So, you know, I think when you're young and this is a very complicated offense with a bunch of alignments, formations, aiming points and stuff like that, it takes a while to find your groove, and you don't want to think too much. So Ricky, I think he's just finding his stride in that, and the more reps that we can get him in practice, the more routes that he can run.
"He's just going to get more and more comfortable because he's a freak athlete. He can do all the great stuff, he can make great catches, he can break tackles, he can make guys miss. So I think just give him a little bit more time and I think you're going to see some pretty awesome games from Ricky."