- Programming Note: Watch "49ers Now" with Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan at 4 p.m. PT today from Santa Clara, streaming live on the NBC Sports App, YouTube and Facebook.
Brock Purdy is a quiet guy, but when he speaks -- people listen.
The 49ers quarterback, along with other players such as cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, spoke to the team before their Week 14 matchup with the Chicago Bears. After losing their previous three games and being dealt with an unfathomable amount of adversity heading into the pivotal contest, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan hand-selected a few players to rally up the guys before Sunday's game.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
General manager John Lynch spoke to Greg Papa on "49ers Game Plan," which debuts at 11:30 p.m. PT Wednesday on NBC Sports Bay Area, about Purdy's speech and how he continues to impact the team both with his words and with his actions.
"He's a tremendous leader," Lynch said. "First of all, how he played versus the Bears, I saw a guy play with conviction, with confidence, with a competitive spirit and then he just played the game at a really high level. Threaded the needle on some of those balls. Great accuracy. He played aggressive. It was really vintage Brock."
Lynch went on to say that some comments made by franchise great Steve Young also gave the team some extra motivation.
Young was critical of San Francisco after the team fell to 5-7 following consecutive blowout road losses to the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills, calling out the 49ers' lack of grit. While Lynch knows Young's critique comes from a sense of care, he admitted he showed the clip to Shanahan, prompting the coach to call on Purdy to speak to the team.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
"We think we're a very gritty team, but we hadn't shown it. So [Shanahan and I] talked about who are the grittiest players we can put up there. We thought of Demo, and Kyle said I don't often have Brock do it, I think because quarterbacks have so much on their plate with game plans and all that, but I'm going to have Brock talk. And I thought that was tremendous. Being there at the team meeting, Demo was tremendous. I think he really inspired his teammates.
"Brock was just unreal, and just gave a really great message. We'll leave what he said [between us] but really he talked about playing desperate. And not desperate in a negative sense, but playing with a great sense of urgency. And I felt like from the first snap, we looked like a team who played with a great deal of urgency. It's not about the words, it's about the way we played. We certainly played inspired football. I thought Kyle handled the week really well and our team responded."
Whatever was said, it clearly worked.
Purdy and the 49ers responded to a three-game skid with a blowout 38-13 win of their own, in which the quarterback completed 20 of his 25 pass attempts for 325 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions.
Standout performances from rookie running back Isaac Guerendo, tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Jauan Jennings also helped as the defense held things down on their end.
But they will need to get the momentum rolling, and that continues against a divisional rival under the bright "Thursday Night Football" lights as the 49ers (6-7) host the Los Angeles Rams (7-6) at Levi's Stadium.