Sunday was evidence of a positive answer. And it started the night before — with so many of their long-time standard-bearers out injured — because that’s when it had to start.
“It was Deommodore and Brock,” Kyle Juszczyk said. “To hear from D-Mo, who doesn’t always speak a lot to the team, that really was cool. Because he’s so authentic and everybody respects his game so much and the way that he plays. And then to hear from Brock, who’s our leader on offense. Both of them spoke so well. … I think it was a step in the right direction and something good for us.”
Of course, Fred Warner remains this team’s singular vocal leader. And George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Williams, Bosa, and others remain essential personalities in the 49ers’ locker room. They’ve all led the 49ers to a lot of huge victories and through heart-breaking losses, including February’s loss in the Super Bowl. But nothing ever stays exactly the same, especially in the NFL, and even more so during this kind of dark-cloud season.
The plain truth is that there are a handful of young 49ers getting extended playing time only because of the injuries. Some haven’t fared so well. But several younger 49ers have risen to the moment through most of this season, starting with Jennings, Malik Mustapha, Dominick Puni, and Renardo Green. And the 25-year-old Lenoir and 24-year-old Purdy seem like excellent peer-captains for this rising group.
“I think we’ve been needing that all year,” Shanahan said when I asked if he sees a new group of leaders emerging. “If you want to be a leader, it starts with what you do on the field. It’s gotta be genuine. … I think we’ve had a lot of guys on this team, going back to Week 1 until now, that didn’t expect to get a lot of opportunities … and they’ve gotten opportunities fast. I think that’s one of the positives. There’s a lot of guys that we do believe in that are getting better each week. Hopefully, they’re going to be good Niners for a long time.”
The 49ers naturally and logically won’t start talking about 2025 until they’re mathematically eliminated, which probably won’t happen for several weeks. But you can see the adjustments they’re planning and the base of what they know they already have. The youngsters had to grow up fast. It wasn’t the prettiest thing to watch this season. But there should be benefits from this in the coming years.
“Even though those guys don’t seem young, the way that they carry themselves, the way that they play … that’s what we need — the younger leadership to kind of step up and use their voice in the moments we need it most,” Warner said.
By the way, the guy coaching this team in 2025 is going to the same guy who’s coaching them now — no matter the silly speculation that Shanahan should manufacture trading himself to the Bears for draft picks.
“I don’t want to be any place in the world more than here,” Shanahan when asked about that ridiculous conjecture. “And my family is just as strong if not a lot stronger [about that]. They’re going to have to kick me out of here.”
The 49ers don’t plan to stay out of the playoffs for long. What Purdy and Lenoir said on Saturday probably wasn’t as important as the feeling of those two young players taking center stage to reset the mood of this team. But Purdy’s message, as he recounted Sunday, was clearly taken to heart.
“We said some things, just trying to keep it real and remind guys this isn’t easy,” Purdy said. “This job isn’t for everybody. But who we have in this building, we have what it takes. And we’ve shown it the last couple years. We’ve just gotta dig deep and find ourselves. And I think we did. And guys responded to it.
“Really, I was just talking to myself, too,” he added. “Not just trying to preach to the guys, but remind myself of how hard this thing is and how much of a competitor you’ve gotta be for four quarters and go and take it.”
Purdy responded with his best statistical game of the season: 20 for 25, 325 yards, 2 touchdown passes, no interceptions, and a 145.4 passer rating. Lenoir responded with another very clean game of coverage. Jennings responded with 7 catches for 90 yards and 2 TDs. Rookie Isaac Guerendo, stepping in for McCaffrey and Jordan Mason (both injured last week), responded with 128 yards from scrimmage before he left with his own foot injury. George Kittle responded with 6 catches for 151 yards. The entire defense, buoyed by the return of Talanoa Hufanga, responded with that first-half wipeout of the Bears and rookie QB Caleb Wiliams.
“Regardless of the result, I wanted to make sure that we came out today and we showed grit,” Shanahan said. “I wanted to fight. These last two weeks just not making ’em a game was something we weren’t proud of. We were ready to battle today.”
Now the 49ers have a Thursday game at Levi’s against the Rams, who just beat the same Buffalo team that blew the 49ers out during a snowstorm last weekend. It could look bad again. It could essentially end the 49ers’ season then and there. But I don’t think the 49ers will play poorly. They might lose, but they won’t give up, not from the tone of their voices on Sunday and the crispness of their play.
“I definitely think everybody in this building still believes,” Kittle said. “Our coaching staff is excellent. Coach Shanahan dials up great game plans. And our execution today was, I thought, really, really well done.”
It’s too little, way too late, to save 2024. But it’s not a bad time to remind the NFL universe that the 49ers don’t intend to fade away. It was about time they told and showed themselves this, too.