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Kendrick Bourne was buoyant.

“He’s HIM,” Bourne, his leather jacket and sunglasses now on, yelled multiple times as he pointed across the room toward fellow receiver Ricky Pearsall.

The second-year wideout’s sterling performance — eight catches, 117 yards — was fresh in Bourne’s mind. That, along with a plethora of contributions from all corners of the roster, enabled the 49ers to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat multiple times in their 16-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

There was something familiar about Bourne’s effervescence. It had graced that same room after several similarly exhilarating victories back in 2019 — back when a young 49ers team first truly surged under coach Kyle Shanahan.

Most of the characters now are different, of course. Pearsall was just 19 years old, fresh out of high school, when the 49ers made that 2019 run. Bourne, 24 years old then, is back now as the sage 30-year-old — but bubbling with the same energy that defined the 49ers’ pop all those years ago.

“I vibe with this guy,” said Bourne, now unable to leave because he wanted to interact with his teammate some more. The veteran had made two very clutch catches of his own on the game-winning drive, and he walked back over to Pearsall and executed another rendition of the duo’s choreographed handshake. “I can’t wait until next week.”

Earlier, Bourne had praised Pearsall — who’s on pace for over 1,600 receiving yards — even more effusively.

“He’s impressive,” Bourne said. “Just coming in, the energy was so connective between us just dancing and enjoying each other. We made a handshake so fast. I’m just proud of him. I told him his conditioning, his stamina, is top tier. If he can play like that he’s going to have a great career. He’s going to get paid a lot of money.”

Call it youthful exuberance, quality chemistry or simple winning enthusiasm. The exact descriptor is irrelevant beyond this: The type of energy that’s permeated the 49ers’ locker room in successful seasons — all while being conspicuously absent during losing campaigns like 2024 — is back in the building following the offseason’s youth movement.

And after a skin-of-their-teeth win requiring clutch contributions from youngsters in all three phases, that’s the unifying explainer for a 49ers team that’s still searching for its identity — but succeeding on the scoreboard while doing so.

“This team is not what it’s going to be yet,” said 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who caught a key go-ahead touchdown from quarterback Mac Jones in the fourth quarter. “We’re still trying to figure out who we are as well. It’s been gritty. It’s been grimy. But we’ve found ways to win.”

Said Shanahan: “All three of our games are games that could have gone either way, and I think those were some of the games we struggled to win last year.”

Several players in the locker room who’d been around for the 49ers’ painful 6-11 slog in 2024 agreed with that sentiment. It’s not a controversial one, because the 49ers have been reversing last year’s crunch-time issues in real time.

Over the past two weeks, it’s started with Jones — who’s clearly a massive upgrade at the backup QB spot. With Brock Purdy likely to return from his toe injury next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s fitting that Jones — after the 49ers went 0-2 without Purdy in 2024 — has led the 49ers to a 2-0 record in the starter’s absence.

Jones finished 27-of-41 for 284 yards against Arizona, including five completions on the clutch drive that set up Eddy Piñeiro’s game-winning field goal.

The biggest throw was the shortest one, a screen pass to running back Christian McCaffrey that turned into a 20-yard effort. McCaffrey is also symbolic of the 49ers’ turnaround; injuries limited him to only four games last season, but he’s now amassed an NFL-high 77 touches through three games in 2025.

McCaffrey, after Sunday’s 10-catch effort, is now on pace for 142 catches and 1,207 receiving yards this season.

And then, of course, there’s the 49ers’ defense — which had slid into one of the NFL’s worst units after star edge rusher Nick Bosa got hurt in 2024.

This Sunday, Nick Bosa got hurt again — he’ll undergo an MRI Monday to determine the severity of his knee injury — but the 49ers didn’t collapse.

Instead, their rookies rose to the occasion.

Defensive back Upton Stout delivered the biggest play, saving the game for the 49ers when he ripped a pass away from Cardinals receiver Zay Jones with just under two minutes left. Had Jones held onto the ball, Arizona would’ve iced the win. But the 5-foot-8 Stout — the strongest DB at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine — put all of his muscle to use.

“It was unbelievable. I mean, they had him beat on the play,” Shanahan said. “He had some separation. That’s how Upton’s been with everything. Just never quits, never stopped, ate up the cushion.”

After Bosa went down early, the 49ers strained to generate a pass rush. They did so at a particularly crucial moment — Arizona’s penultimate third down — when returning defensive coordinator Robert Saleh dialed up an aggressive blitz. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray couldn’t get his throw over hard-charging 49ers linebacker Fred Warner.

“The energy is second to none,” 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said of Saleh. “The man has too much aura. He’s a blessing to have.”

Earlier, to set up Pearsall’s longest catch and Juszczyk’s touchdown, the 49ers’ three rookie D-linemen combined to pressure Murray to coax an intentional grounding penalty that nearly became a safety.

“When I got up and looked around, I realized it was me, [Alfred Collins,] and CJ [West],” 49ers defensive end Mykel Williams, their first-round pick in the 2025 draft, said in the locker room. “I was like, ‘Damn. All of us are out here making plays?’

“And it just turned me up. Gave me good energy.”

And fittingly, that exuberance carried over to special teams for the game’s decisive moment. Less than two weeks ago, the 49ers replaced kicker Jake Moody — a primary culprit behind 2024’s last-place finish in that phase of the game — with Eddy Piñeiro.

The new veteran made all three of his field goals, including the game-winner from 35 yards out as time expired. Even that featured an unusual mojo, as Piñeiro turned toward the Arizona sideline as he celebrated.

“I was really excited,” he said. “I didn’t want to lose to them at home. They’re a divisional rival. We weren’t going to let them come in and do that to us.”

With that, the 49ers had doubled their intra-NFC West win total from last season, when they finished 1-5 against the division. They’re vibing again, in sole possession of first place now.

While most of the marathon still awaits, the 49ers certainly prefer 2025’s upward trajectory.

“I told them how proud of them I was,” Shanahan said. “I said it to them using big words for myself: Fortitude, resilience, character.”