Week 14 - Looking to shake off their nightmarish two-game road trip and three-game skid, the (5-7) San Francisco 49ers returned home to Levi's Stadium in hopes of a rebound as they continue to play catchup in a crowded NFC West. Despite looking up at the rest of the division in the standings and sitting in last place, the Niners still have a scenario in play where they can make the playoffs, but they can ill afford losing more games to teams they should easily beat. A meeting with the visiting (4-8) Chicago Bears, losers of six straight entering Sunday, would allow them an opportunity to get back on track and into the win column. With the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus on black Friday, a day after the debacle that took place during their Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions, it was uncertain what the Chicago Bears would look like on Sunday under interim head coach Thomas Brown who took the sideline for the first time at the helm after starting the season as the team's passing game coordinator. And with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy coming off career-lows as a starter a week earlier in snowy Buffalo, the Niners signal-caller would come out with a chip on his shoulder as the offense began Sunday's contest firing on all cylinders right out the gates.
Thanks to big gains on back-to-back plays by rookie running back Isaac Guerendo and tight-end George Kittle who picked up 23 and 33 yards respectively, the Niners were off to the races and found the end zone on Purdy's 7-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jauan Jennings. The quartet of Purdy, Guerendo, Kittle and Jennings would all be in line for big games, including Guerendo who would see his first career start at running back in the absence of fellow running backs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason. Jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead, San Francisco would score only their second opening-drive touchdown of the season, marching 70-yards in just 7-plays. With the 49er defense welcoming back safety Talanoa Hufanga after a 7-game stint on the Injured Reserve, San Francisco would be just as stout on the defensive side of the ball as the Chicago Bears were held scoreless in the first half and limited to only 4 yards of total offense through the first two quarters. With a rushing touchdown by Guerendo and a second touchdown grab by Jauan Jennings, the 49ers went into the locker room at the half with a resounding 24-0 lead.
Whatever peptalk interim head coach Thomas Brown gave his team at the half, seemed to work as the Bears put together their most successful drive yet, marching 70-yards on 18-plays before finding the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown pass from QB Caleb Williams to receiver Rome Odunze for the rookie-to-rookie connection. In spite of the successful drive, the Bears ate up over 9-minutes of game time on their touchdown-scoring drive. After forcing a quick 49ers punt on San Francisco's ensuing possession, the Bears were suddenly marching down the field on offense and made it across midfield before being dealt a blow on a Caleb Williams fumble on a backwards pass that was recovered by the defense. Stopping the Bears in their tracks, the 49ers capitalized on the Chicago turnover with Isaac Guerendo's second rushing touchdown of the afternoon from 4-yards out. Setup by a 39-yard reception from Jauan Jennings, the 49ers had plenty of big plays under their sleeve on Sunday. After only eight plays of 20+ yards in their last three games combined, Kyle Shanahan's offense would match that mark in the first half of Sunday's game alone before surpassing that total with more big plays in the second half.
With only one receiving touchdown on the season entering Sunday, Bears rookie receiver Rome Odunze would haul in his second touchdown reception of the afternoon with a 14-yard grab, making it a 31-13 game. Answering Chicago's touchdown with a scoring drive of their own, the 49ers run game would put the final nail in the coffin following a 3-yard rushing touchdown up the middle by running back Patrick Taylor who put the game well out of reach. After losing their previous three games by a combined 7-points, the Bears were shellacked on Sunday by a final score of 38-13. Thanks to an overall solid performance in all facets by the 49ers, there was very little if anything at all to complain about as the Niners got back into the win column. Outgaining the Bears by nearly 300 yards in total offense, the 49ers racked up 452 yards to Chicago's 162. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy answered the call after setting career-lows the week earlier, throwing for 325 yards and 2 passing touchdowns, completing 20 of 25 passes. In contrast, Bears QB Caleb Williams also connected on a pair of touchdown passes, but threw for only 134 yards and was sacked seven times on Sunday, adding to his NFL lead as the most sacked quarterback in the league this season with 56, 15 more than the next closest quarterback (C.J. Stroud, sacked 41 times).
49ers rookie running back Isaac Guerendo answered the call in his first career start, rushing for 78-yards and 2 touchdowns and adding another 50-yards receiving on 2 receptions to give him 128-yards of total offense, resulting in a nomination for the NFL's Pepsi Rookie of the Week. Tight-end George Kittle had just six receptions on Sunday but made the most of them and finished with a game-high 151-yards receiving on his way to becoming just the third tight-end in NFL history with 500 receptions and 7,000 receiving yards. Leading all receivers with 7 receptions, Jauan Jennings continued his stellar 2024 campaign with 90-yards and 2 touchdown grabs in the win. Hampered by injury which has caused him to miss all but seven games this season, defensive-end Yetur Gross-Matos who was the team's big offseason signing on defense, led the 49ers in sacks on Sunday with 3, tripling his season output as he entered Sunday with only 1 sack on the year.
Week 15 Preview: With a quick turnaround in store as the (6-7) 49ers play host to the rival (7-6) Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football, San Francisco will look to win their second straight and avenge a tough Week 3 loss that saw the 49ers spoil a 10-point fourth quarter lead. In that game, the 49ers were without many of their playmakers on offense including George Kittle and Deebo Samuel, both of whom will be on the field on Thursday looking to make up for their absence in the previous bout. However, receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua were also missing in action in that Week 3 meeting for the Rams and will look to prevent the 49ers from gaining any ground within the NFC Western Division. L.A. QB Matthew Stafford is also playing his best football of the season while riding a streak of 10 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions over the last four games for the Rams offense. After losing nine straight regular season games to the Niners, the Rams enter Levi's Stadium having won the last two matchups against San Francisco including last year's regular season finale in a battle of two backup QB's.
Sunday's game will have a bit more significance than that playoff tune-up from a season ago with the Niners hoping to start a new streak against their rivals and inch back into the playoff picture with only four regular season games remaining on the schedule and plenty of ground to make up. One key reinforcement could be headed San Francisco's way in time for kickoff in the form of linebacker Dre Greenlaw who's been out all season after tearing his Achilles on the sideline in February's Super Bowl. With Thursday's game the targeted date for a possible season debut for the Niners' talented linebacker barring any setbacks during this week's practice, a healthy Greenlaw back on the field could be the perfect jolt needed for the 49ers looking to make a last-ditch run for a playoff spot.
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