Driving To The Red Zone

Guerendo meets 49ers fans' expectations in first NFL start

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The 49ers Faithful hoped Isaac Guerendo would rise to the occasion in his first NFL start, and the rookie running back did just that in San Francisco's 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.

Guerendo got the call after the 49ers' top two backs, Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason, landed on injured reserve following San Francisco's Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In Sunday's win, Guerendo tallied 78 rushing yards on 15 carries -- which is what a quarter of fans expected from him when NBC Sports Bay Area asked before the game.

Guerendo scored two rushing touchdowns in the win, and the 24-year-old also caught both of his targets for 50 receiving yards to finish the victory with 128 all-purpose yards. He left the game with a foot injury in the fourth quarter that coach Kyle Shanahan described Monday as "day to day."

His two rushing touchdowns against the Bears also made Guerendo the first 49ers running back to score two or more rushing touchdowns in their first career start since Carlos Hyde in 2015.

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So, while 29 percent of 49ers fans thought Guerendo might rush for over 90 yards, it's safe to say he did more than enough in the win while giving the Faithful plenty to cheer about.

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