Talanoa Hufanga is happy to return to the field for the first time in two months.
The San Francisco safety expressed gratitude after a 38-13 thumping of the Chicago Bears.
“It was great,” Hufanga told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt. “Grateful for the opportunity. I had a lot of good friends out there to play with. It has been a heck of a ride so far just recovering and getting back onto the field. But I can’t complain, I’m happy with the support system and everybody on the field.”
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Hufanga had been out since Week 5 after tearing ligaments in his wrist, which required him to play with a cast on his hand. This came after months of arduous rehab from a torn ACL sustained last season.
With the 24-year-old back in the lineup, San Francisco’s defense came to life after back-to-back blowout losses.
For Hufanga, the biggest change in the game was a shift in the game plan.
“For us, it was just stopping the run,” Hufanga told Britt. “I think that was the emphasis this week. Today we executed the game plan really well. We still obviously don’t want them to score at all, I think they got some freebies. But for us, we’ve got to be ready for a good [Los Angeles Rams] team coming in on Thursday.”
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San Francisco raced out to a massive 24-0 halftime lead, with Chicago managing a paltry 4 yards of net offense in the first half. From that point, it was smooth sailing as the 49ers controlled the clock and pressured Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
The stalwart defensive effort was a huge morale boost considering the injuries that have decimated the team. Nick Bosa missed another game with an oblique injury, and Hufanga noted that the defense is playing with a different mentality.
“For us, we just played desperate,” Hufanga told Britt. “It’s a playoff game every game from here on out. So, for us, we’ve just got to go in there with that mentality, play hard, play fast, play physical, and when we get guys like Bosa back in there and Dre Greenlaw [we’ll be even better].”
The 49ers kept their faint playoff hopes alive but with the Seattle Seahawks also winning, San Francisco still is two games back in the NFC West. Next is another must-win game against the Rams on “Thursday Night Football.”
Given the way Los Angeles just ran roughshod over the Buffalo Bills, Hufanga and the rest of the San Francisco defense will have their hands full.