In Week 14, the San Francisco 49ers handily defeated the Chicago Bears 38-13.
They held the Bears scoreless before the half, running out to an insurmountable 24-0 lead heading into the third, and even if they gave up 13 points down the stretch, it made little impact on the game's final score, as Kyle Shanahan's unit was able to put up 14 points of their own in the fourth to boot.
Now, sure, the Bears have been downright bad over the past few weeks, to the point where they fired their head coach following a brutal Thanksgiving day showing. But excitement was at an all-time high to see what Thomas Brown would do with the clipboard, even if that was rapidly dashed by poor execution.
At 6-7, the 49ers may be in last place in the NFC West, but they could still finish out the season with a 10-7 record and could even win the division if a few things break their way.
They play the Rams on TNF, travel to Miami for a Shanahan-scheme throwdown against former OC Mike McDaniel, have a Monday Night Football game against Detroit, which will be incredibly challenging, and close out the season against the Cardinals on the road, which could not only have NFC West implications but NFC Wildcard ones too, depending on how the final month of the season plays out.
Can Shanahan pull another rabbit out of his hat and prove that the 49ers are no fourth-place team destined for an offseason of retooling? Will he rally the troops, as beaten, broke, and downtrodden as they might be, and get San Francisco to the playoffs for the fourth season in a row? Sure, that is technically possible, but it feels more likely that the Bears are just really bad, and the 49ers will inevitably fall back to earth down the stretch and then go on some magical run that ends in a playoff spot, where every team is 0-0 in single elimination. Why? Because there are some areas of concern that make things tricky.
1. The 49ers keep taking hits at the running back position
There's no two ways about it, the 49ers, a team known for building their offensive identity, passing and rushing, around a strong ground game, have been down bad at the running back position in 2024.
First, they lost Christian McCaffrey, then Jordan Mason, then McCaffrey, again – though not in that order – and, in Week 14, they lost rookie rusher Isaac Guerendo, who was supposed to be the guy now that the team's top-2 options are on IR. After earning praise from running game coordinator Chris Foerster as the Niners' next man up, Guerendo missed practice with a foot injury on Tuesday and might just miss Week 15 entirely, opening the floor for Patrick Taylor to become San Francisco's next man up.
Discussing how it feels to change up his starting running back so often in 2024, Brock Purdy noted it's been tough but complemented the team's depth for consistently stepping up, as they've needed it at every turn.
“I think our offensive line has done a great job with just doing their part in the run game and then whoever's carrying the ball behind it's their job to hit the gaps and do their thing. But for me, I trust in whoever it is when it comes to the run game and then obviously in the pass game, we have a really smart running back room where they know where to step up and fit into blocks and they've given me time,” Purdy told reporters.
“And so, I trust in all those guys. So there's that. But I think, not having Christian or [RB Jordan Mason] JP, guys with a little bit more experience that that could always be a thing. But, Isaac came in, did a great job. [RB] Patrick Taylor [Jr.], he's had experience. We could obviously have [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] back there as well. So, I'm very confident in the guys that we've got.”
Will Taylor prove a suitable replacement for McCaffrey, Morgan, and Guerendo should he get the nod on TNF? Or will someone like Ke'Shawn Vaughn, who isn't even on the active roster, or waiver claim Israel Abanikanda, end up being the guy? You know, it's tough to say, but after getting lucky with Mason and getting lucky again with Guerendo, can lightning really strike a third time for San Francisco? That feels like a low-potential bet, indeed.
2. Players are becoming more vocal in their dissatisfaction
Earlier this season, the 49ers' struggles were largely overlooked because the locker room appeared committed to figuring things out internally.
Sure, there were the occasional outbursts, including a summer of drama from Brandon Aiyuk before he tore his ACL, but outside of the occasional comment taken the wrong way or the drama surrounding Nick Bosa's presidential endorsements, the Niners openly stated that they wanted to win together whenever asked, and would work together to accomplish that feat in kind.
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And yet, in Week 15, that changed when Deebo Samuel, in the middle of a down year, went off on social media accusing his lack of production on his usage instead of the ebbs and flows of being a high-end wide receiver in the NFL.
Discussing the challenge of Samuel's comments and how it feels to have players speaking out about their usage during such a make-or-break period of the season, Shanahan admitted that he would prefer to keep things in-house but assured anyone who would listen that it is not a distraction in the building, which is all that really matters in the end.
“Yeah, we'd always love things to stay in-house. That's probably why I don't mess with social media. I'm sure I'd get worked up and stuff too if I was reading stuff about myself all the time. And then I'd maybe make a tweet or something too,” Shanahan told reporters.
“I mean is it a distraction in our building? No. I've got to answer questions about, it's the first time I've talked about it is right here. But Deebo and I see each other every day and talk about stuff every day. So my advice is to not let the outside frustrate you, because just answering those things isn't going to help you in any way. Usually only hurts you. But as far as like what we deal with and our relationships and our team, it's water under the bridge.”
Purdy reflected on the situation, too, noting that he has the All-Pro receiver's back, even if he is going through it at the moment.
“Deebo and I talk all the time and he's like one of my best friends on this team. I absolutely love Deebo and what he's done for me and helping me out. We talk all the time. Yeah, I think he's right. He's doing great right now with what we ask of him in the offense. And he is not struggling or anything… So, I want to get Deebo the ball every play if I could. I want to have him break all the records as best as possible. I want Deebo to do Deebo things and we all do in this building.”
On the field, the 49ers have been struggling right there with Samuel, as they haven't been playing up to expectations either. But if they start fighting with each other over things like personal stats as the season winds down, there really is no chance this gets back on track.
