It had been some time since 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had asked his players to speak at the team meeting the night before a game.
“When he was first starting off, he would have one of the vets talk about things that were important to them and why they play the game,” said tight end George Kittle, who’s been with the 49ers since 2017 — also Shanahan’s first season. “But he hadn’t done that in a while.”
Things changed Saturday night. The 49ers were reeling at 5-7. Their season was on the brink. So Shanahan picked cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and quarterback Brock Purdy to deliver words to their teammates.
A day later, after Sunday’s 38-13 thrashing over the Chicago Bears, several of those 49ers wouldn’t stop talking about the duo’s message to the team.
“Seeing that, it was like, ‘All right, our back is up against the wall,'” 49ers safety Malik Mustapha said. “We’ve got to treat every one of these games like a playoff game. We have guys who are able to lead a group of men. And that’s the biggest thing. Because this is a brotherhood at the end of the day.”
Mustapha said that Lenoir implored the team, which had been blown out in consecutive games at Green Bay and Buffalo, to show true grit. The rookie then lauded Purdy’s message, emphasizing that it carried extra gravitas because of the accomplishments of the player who has delivered it.
Purdy, an MVP finalist in 2023 and the NFL’s most efficient QB ever since he entered the league in 2022, had just delivered one the best games of his sparkling young career. He finished 20-of-25 for 325 yards — good for an NFL-best 13 yards per attempt — against Chicago’s pass defense, which had entered the game ranked No. 5 in expected points added.
Elite performance from Brock Purdy. Nearly 1 expected point added with every drop back and +20.2 completion percentage over expectation (!!) pic.twitter.com/10tVRWyoUI
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) December 8, 2024
“Brock, breaking us down, taking charge — Brock has solidified himself on this team,” Mustapha said. “He’s been a leader, a great player. And he will be for years to come.
“It was special for both of those guys to speak.”
And it was special to see the 49ers again perform at a level that they had reached in years past — but not yet during this vexing 2024 season.
Statistically, the first half was actually the most dominant 30 minutes of football in Shanahan’s tenure. The 49ers out-gained the Bears 320 yards to 4. Purdy averaged 13.4 net yards per pass attempt, while Chicago rookie QB Caleb Williams — due to yardage lost via sacks — was at negative-0.5 net yards per pass attempt.
The 49ers entered the locker room leading 24-0 against a Bears team that had come within three points of the NFC-leading Detroit Lions in its previous outing. The 49ers — who remain down two games but not out of the NFC West race — ultimately sealed a muscle-flexing win that set the table for an electric Thursday night pairing against the Los Angeles Rams, who outlasted the Buffalo Bills in a 44-42 barnburner.
“Momentum is contagious, not just on the offense, but all three phases,” Shanahan said. “Psychology is contagious. You try to think like one and play like one and I felt that today from our team.”
It all started with a renewed sense of purpose from the 49ers offense, which marched 70 yards in just five plays to grab a lead the team wouldn’t relinquish. Shanahan and Purdy refocused on the short passing game, which had languished earlier this season after having been the bread and butter of the attack in years past.
Purdy opened with a 7-yard out to receiver Jauan Jennings. He followed with a check-down connection to rookie running back Isaac Guerendo — who replaced the injured Christian McCaffrey in the lineup — that went for 23 yards. That moved the chains and set the table for a new play that the 49ers had just installed in the days leading up to the game.
It was a screen pass to the left from Purdy to Kittle, who rumbled 33 yards behind a convoy of three offensive linemen to set up Jennings’ first of two touchdown receptions.
“They run a lot of ‘pirate’ stunts with defensive ends,” Kittle said of Chicago’s aggressiveness. “We knew if we could catch them in one of those off a screen, they would be completely out of whack.”
Shanahan had entered last week’s snowy defeat at Buffalo having called the fewest screen passes in the NFL. That, in conjunction with the 49ers’ last-place ranking in yards after the catch (they’d ranked No. 1 in YAC over Shanahan’s first seven seasons), was emblematic of a flailing offense that seemed to be held together mainly by sensational off-schedule deliveries from Purdy.
Shanahan needed to rediscover the short game to build a more sustainable attack, and that was on display through two early screens to Kittle that set Purdy up for precise throws to all parts of the field. Kittle finished with six catches for 151 yards shortly after his mother, Jan, had predicted on the field during pregame warmups that he’d rack up 150 yards on the day.
“Mom knows best,” Kittle said, smiling, in the locker room.
The 49ers defense, which had posted some of the NFL’s worst numbers over the preceding two weeks, matched the offense’s intensity. Safety Talanoa Hufanga, making his first appearance since Week 3, seemed to provide a key boost. Hufanga played with a club to protect the surgically repaired ligament in his right wrist. He replaced Ji’Ayir Brown as the starter next to Mustapha and made several early plays that embodied the toughness Shanahan wanted to see out of his team.
“There’s very rarely some special words that change how guys play,” Shanahan said. “But we did talk about the importance of this. Regardless of the result, I wanted to make sure we came out and showed grit, showed fight.”
Purdy embodied that in multiple ways. Toward the end of his big game, a high hit from Bears defensive lineman Darrell Taylor bent Purdy’s neck backwards. The contact drew a personal foul flag. For what seemed like an awfully long while to the Levi’s Stadium crowd, Purdy didn’t get up.
“I was sort of in shock,” Purdy said. “I had to let myself cool down.”
He eventually jogged off the field. After missing just one play, Purdy trotted back out there. The whole stadium began chanting his name.
“Just hearing them have my back like that was pretty cool,” Purdy said.
The 49ers had the game in hand by that point, and it was fitting that Purdy heard the chant of encouragement to close it — because he had delivered the inspirational words that fueled this performance.
“I was trying to keep it real and remind guys that this isn’t easy, this job isn’t for everyone,” Purdy said of his Saturday speech. “But who we have in this building — we have what it takes. We’ve shown that the past couple years. We just have to dig deep and find ourselves. I think we did. I think guys responded to it.
“Really, I was talking to myself, too — not just trying to preach to the guys, but reminding myself how hard this is and how you’ve got to be a competitor for all four quarters and go and take it. Nothing’s ever given to you. Reminder to myself and my teammates about where we’re at and where we’re trying to go. We all feel it, man, we’re all trying to win for each other.”
Said Kittle: “The message was we need to play with more of a sense of urgency and play desperate. That desperation fuels guys in different ways. It’s how you channel that energy.”
On Sunday, the 49ers channeled it masterfully. But they now only have three days before Thursday, when an encore will be needed against the Rams. The pressure only intensifies.
“Our mindset is the biggest thing,” Purdy said. “We’ve got to clear this, not get too high on it, learn from it and come ready Thursday. It’s a 0-0 game and a clean slate.”