At this point in the last two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers were focused on securing playoff spots instead of just fighting for their place in the playoffs.
After ending a three-game losing streak with a big win last week against Chicago, the Niners are looking to bring that same level of urgency into their Thursday night division game against the Los Angeles Rams. They know they likely need to win this game to have a chance at the postseason.
“I think just across the board as a team, everybody had just a bit more of sense of urgency and I think we executed and played together as a team, and we didn’t let off,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “Really liked that. But, that was last week so now it’s on to this week and how can we do that again?”
After tough losses to Green Bay and Buffalo, where they were outscored by 53 points, the 49ers (6-7) played their best game of the season to keep their playoff dreams alive.
While some people pointed to the team’s desperation or motivating speeches from players like Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir, linebacker Fred Warner said it was more about good execution than anything else.
“We didn’t go out there in Green Bay, we didn’t go out there in Buffalo saying, ‘Let’s just hope that we win.’ Trust me, I felt desperate as hell going into both those games,” Warner said. “It just didn’t work out. … It didn’t happen because last week we decided we wanted to. This was weeks in the making.”
No matter the reason, the results were clear to anyone watching, including the Rams (7-6), who also had a big win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Los Angeles held off Buffalo 44-42 to stay one game behind Seattle in the NFC West race, and one game ahead of the 49ers and Arizona in the tight division.
Coach Sean McVay knows his team will need another strong performance to beat San Francisco and complete the season sweep.
“I saw they certainly had a very dominant performance,” he said. “If there’s anything that you do know, it’s a week-to-week league. Humility is only a week away. They have excellent coaches, excellent personnel and really good schemes. No matter what’s really happened in terms of the trajectory of the injuries, they’re going to be ready to go.”
