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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterDec 8, 2024, 09:57 PM ET
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Despite a tumultuous season far different from the winning he and his team have grown accustomed to in recent years, Kyle Shanahan has no desire to coach anyone but the San Francisco 49ers next season or any time soon.
In the days leading up to the Niners’ 38-13 destruction of the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon, internet chatter about Shanahan’s future in San Francisco began to spread. One of the wildest ideas put forth was that Shanahan should be traded to the Bears in the offseason to restock the Niners’ lot of draft picks and give the Bears a long-term answer at head coach after firing Matt Eberflus.
When asked about it Sunday afternoon, Shanahan made it clear he wants to be in San Francisco for the foreseeable future.
“I don’t want to be any place in the world more than here,” Shanahan said. “My family feels just as strong if not a lot stronger. I hope you guys are going to have to kick me out of here.”
On Friday afternoon, Niners general manager John Lynch expressed a similar sentiment on KNBR radio in San Francisco, calling the discussion “rather comical” and rattling off the Niners’ recent stretch of winning, albeit without a Lombardi Trophy.
“We’re 100% behind Kyle and what he brings to our organization,” Lynch told KNBR. “Like I said, our focus is really on the Bears and doing everything we can. That’s where Kyle’s focus is, and that’s where all our focus is.”
On Sunday, for the first time in about a month, the Niners looked like a team that did have all its focus on its next opponent as they improved to 6-7 with relative ease. San Francisco received the opening kickoff and put together one of the most dominant first-half performances in recent memory.
In addition to jumping out to a 24-0 lead, the Niners outgained the Bears in total yards 319-4. The offensive output was the most by a team in the first half this season, and the defense held the Bears to the lowest yardage total by a team in the opening two quarters this season.
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That plus-315-yard differential in the first half was San Francisco’s largest yard differential in any half over the past 40 seasons. Rookie running back Isaac Guerendo was at the center of San Francisco’s attack.
Making his first NFL start after the team lost Christian McCaffrey (right knee), Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) and Jordan Mason (ankle) to injured reserve, Guerendo looked right at home. He finished with 128 yards from scrimmage on 17 touches (7.5 yards per touch) and had a pair of touchdowns before a foot injury sent him to the locker room in the fourth quarter.
Guerendo did not return to the game and is set for further testing Monday to see the extent of the injury and if he’ll be available to play against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
“Everything is fine,” Guerendo said. “They’re just being cautious. We have a quick turnaround this week, so we’re just making sure that we’re good to go.”
Before departing, Guerendo etched himself into the 49ers record books with his successful debut. He became the fourth player in franchise history to have 100-plus scrimmage yards and at least two touchdowns in his first start, joining Carlos Hyde (2015), Earl Cooper (1980) and Hugh McElhenny (1952) in that club.
Guerendo also became the second rookie this season to post multiple rushing touchdowns in a game, joining Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. All of which contributed to San Francisco scoring a season-high 38 points, a point more than what it had managed in the past three games combined.
“All I’ve been preaching to Isaac is, ‘Hey man, just run really, really fast and hold on the football and you’re going to get a lot of yards,'” tight end George Kittle said. “And I thought he did a really good job of that today.”
With Guerendo running well, Niners quarterback Brock Purdy and Kittle also got into a quick rhythm. Purdy finished 20-of-25 for 325 yards and a pair of touchdowns with Kittle amassing 151 receiving yards on six catches.
San Francisco’s defense complemented that offensive outburst well, sacking Bears quarterback Caleb Williams seven times and limiting Chicago to just 162 yards and 3.1 yards per play.
After the win, the 49ers weren’t much in the mood to celebrate knowing they have a short week and an important divisional game ahead. They did, however, let out a sigh of relief that their three-game losing streak is over and that there is still meaningful football to be played.
“It’s huge,” Purdy said. “Obviously, it’s where we’re at and every week matters so much. We all know that. I think just the biggest thing was just getting some energy and momentum. This league is, it’s hard, it’s tough and if you don’t have momentum or energy and belief within a building, it can be really tough. For us, I think that was the emphasis today.”
While the Niners got back in the win column, they didn’t get much help from their divisional brethren. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals to stay two games in front of the Niners in the NFC West, while the Rams pulled off a wild victory against the Buffalo Bills to stay in second place by themselves ahead of the Niners.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, San Francisco’s playoff chances improved from 8% before the game to 13% with the win. The only way for those to continue to climb, of course, is for the Niners to continue to win. They have four games left and almost no margin for error.
“We still have everything in front of us to play for,” Kittle said. “I know certain things might need to happen, but if we win every single game, I think we’ve put ourselves in a very good position to either win the division or somehow sneak our way into playoff contention. … I definitely think everybody in this building still believes.”
