49ers minutia minute: Young safeties bounce back; CJ West has his best game (paywall)
“General manager John Lynch must have liked this sight: His rookie defensive tackles, Collins and West, not only got their first sacks of the season, but both were on the field when the other got his sack (and were the first to congratulate the other). West, a fourth-round pick, had his best game of the season in leading the team with four quarterback pressures — one sack and three hurries.
Gross-Matos’ 18 snaps
were in keeping with what he averaged early in the season before going on injured reserve. He deserves an assist on West’s sack, considering his quick get-off from the right defensive end spot forced Philip Rivers to step forward and into West….Stout was around the ball a lot in Indianapolis, finishing with six tackles and two pass breakups. With Rivers mostly sticking to shorter throws over the middle, he targeted Stout eight times, completing four attempts for 45 yards. Luter, substituting for starter Renardo Green (neck), gave up three catches on three targets, including a touchdown.“
49ers game review: How Dee Winters turned ‘53 Orlando Right’ into a pick-six (paywall)
“Rivers, in shotgun, regularly surveyed a Niners defense featuring nine starters who had fewer than 30 career starts and made play calls just before the snap. At times, Rivers called a play at the line of scrimmage when Indianapolis was in no-huddle mode. Before other snaps, Rivers audibled, changing the play called in the huddle, often after he sent a player in motion to see if the 49ers were in zone coverage or were playing man-to-man.
Twelve days after Rivers signed with the Colts, ending a layoff of nearly five years, the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala., spent much of the evening pointing to get his new teammates correctly positioned. And he did so after screaming calls that television viewers could easily hear with the home crowd hushed to let the future Hall of Fame conductor do his work.“
49ers overreactions: Does Christian McCaffrey belong in NFL MVP conversation?
“McCaffrey is showing his value to the team. He rarely played last season, and the 49ers finished 6-11. This season, he rarely comes off the field and the 49ers have 11 victories with two games remaining in the regular season.
Coincidence? Nope.
He is that valuable to the team.
McCaffrey probably is not in the NFL MVP conversation because that award seems to always go to a quarterback. Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Josh Allen are considered the front-runners.
While there is no denying just how important he is to the 49ers, the best chance McCaffrey has to earn some hardware is probably as the favorite for NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.“
Luke Gifford’s first Pro Bowl nod emblematic of the 49ers’ special teams success
“Gifford leads the 49ers with 19 tackles on special teams. Long snapper Jon Weeks also was selected to the Pro Bowl, and return specialist Skyy Moore is listed as an alternate.
Gifford gave credit to his teammates, notably Siran Neal, as well as the 49ers’ winning record, for his individual accomplishment.
“The only reason that I got the recognition that I did is because of the guys around me,” Gifford said. “Siran easily could have been in the same position. So I’m just grateful for those guys, honestly. And then just being on a good team in general. That’s how this happens, so I’m extremely grateful for that.”
Brock Purdy offers a critical assessment of his five-TD performance vs. Colts
“Obviously, there were some missed throws and opportunities, and I want to score a touchdown on every drive, so I’m looking at myself like, ‘All right, how did we not convert there?’ ” Purdy said. “And it’s my decision here or there, and the interception at the end of the game, tipped ball, it was high….Just watching the film and being real with myself that I can still be better with my accuracy on certain plays and being aggressive and not second-guessing on certain plays,” Purdy said. “There are still things that I have to clean up and I just want to get better at. You don’t want it to come up in another game and another situation, so (there’s) definitely room for improvement.”
George Kittle isn’t practicing, but has chance to play in 49ers’ game vs. Bears
“Kittle is sidelined with an ankle injury, but has a chance to play this week, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday.
The 49ers received some encouraging news with wide receiver Ricky Pearsall cleared for limited practice on Wednesday due to knee and ankle injuries.
Cornerback Renardo Green, who also sat out Monday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, was scheduled for limited practice.“
Fowler: 49ers have a decision to make with Trent Williams
“Could one of the greatest left tackles of all time enter free agency in March? Trent Williams is healthy this season, and it’s showing,” Fowler wrote in a feature for ESPN. “The 49ers think Williams, 37, is having one of his best months in recent memory. But his massive 2026 cap hit of $38.8 million is approaching. That’s second on the team behind pass rusher Nick Bosa ($42 million), who is 28 and unlikely to go anywhere.”
Shanahan, Saleh, Purdy preview 49ers-Bears Week 17 matchup
“Gus has been amazing. I love Gus. Just his personality, how he carries himself and how much knowledge and football he has too, which is so good for everybody. Definitely Saleh, but just for everybody in the building. Players and coaches. Saleh had a style with him. He would do these stories for like, he’d have them done in July, which always annoyed me. But, he’d have a planned-out story for all 17 weeks, they’d do PowerPoints and make guys laugh and there’s always kind of a message with it. And then the first day I let Gus speak to the team for a Ball meeting, he did the exact same type of story and for like one second I thought he was stealing Saleh’s stuff, and then I realized that Saleh stole his stuff 20 years ago I just saw Saleh first. And then one night for a team meeting, I always show film usually and football stuff, and I thought we had had enough of that I’d done earlier in the week. I asked Gus to do one of his stories and it hit, the guys loved it and we won. And then I kind of stick with things at work, and he’s undefeated doing it and I’m like .500 doing it. So, I don’t take people off when they’re on a heater. So, he’s been doing an awesome job. I think it’s nice sometimes, you do x’s and o’s all week and there’s always a message in there about football, about playing a certain way and what we want to do. But, it’s also entertaining and makes guys laugh and it’s a better bedtime story before you go to sleep to get ready to get up and play.”
Could you give an example of one of his stories? Like do they have anything to do with football?
“No. The message does, but it’s a totally random story. Like it could be about taking his son fishing when he was younger. Could be a lady getting pulled over in some town in Alabama. It could be going on a rollercoaster with your friends in some amusement park. They’re the most random stories ever which makes guys laugh, then he brings it full circle and there’s a message eventually that pertains to the game.”
