San Francisco (6-7) got back on track with a dominant performance on Sunday in its 38-13 romp over the Chicago Bears (4-9).
The 49ers snapped a three-game losing streak and captured a game that they had to win in convincing fashion.
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy carved up the Bears with 325 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air to receiver Jauan Jennings.
What does Sunday’s blowout win over the Bears mean for the 49ers’ playoff chances? According to ESPN in its Week 14 recap and takeaways, not all that much.
Not as much as they’d like. For the first time in a long time, the Niners looked like the juggernaut many expected them to be entering this season. While a comfortable win was much needed, the 49ers didn’t gain any ground in the NFC West given Seattle’s win over Arizona.
Sunday’s victory also came against a Bears team in disarray, which makes it hard to believe this is a sign of a team on the verge of a surge. If San Francisco can beat the Rams on Thursday, it would be a much better indicator that San Francisco can still make the playoffs. – Nick Wagoner, ESPN.
San Francisco has a pair of division games left over its final four contests. The 49ers host Los Angeles (7-6) on Thursday night and they travel to Arizona (6-7) in the regular season finale on Jan. 5.
As Wagoner pointed out, a win on Thursday over the Rams would be a stronger indication that the 49ers are in the mix to make a serious end-of-season push toward the playoffs.
Still, Seattle (8-5) sits two games in front of San Francisco in the NFC West standings and the 49ers won’t see the Seahawks again in the regular season.
ESPN also shared a couple other thoughts on the 49ers’ win over the Bears. Wagoner highlighted rookie running back Isaac Guerendo as the 49ers’ most surprising performance in the win over the Bears and crunched the numbers on an eye-popping stat.
In his first career start, Guerendo registered 78 rushing yards on 15 carries and caught a pair of passes for 50 yards. Guerendo’s status for Thursday night against the Rams is in question, though.
Guerendo was set to undergo an MRI on Monday on his sprained foot. The rookie from Louisville did not participate in the 49ers’ Monday practice.
In ESPN’s eye-popping stat from the 49ers’ win over the Bears, San Francisco enjoyed the most lopsided first half in any NFL game this season.
The 49ers racked up 319 yards of offense in the first half, which was the most of any NFL team in 2024. San Francisco also limited Chicago to four yards of offense in the first half. That was the fewest amount of yards by any NFL team in a first half this season.
The 315-yard margin was the highest by a 49ers team in any half over the past 40 seasons.
San Francisco returns to action on Thursday night against the Rams with kickoff set for 5:15 p.m. PT from Levi’s Stadium and the game set to broadcast on Prime Video.