SANTA CLARA -- Desperate times often times call for desperate measures. However, that wasn't quite the case for the 49ers this week.
Yes, the times indeed are desperate. No, drastic measures were not taken in the week leading up to the 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.
The only difference between this week and any other week leading up to a game for San Francisco was the team meeting that took place on Saturday night. Not the meeting itself, but who spoke.
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Coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the team, which is usual on the night before the game, but his 'rah-rah' speech, or lack thereof, as he often likes to emphasize, wasn't the only message being delivered. The 49ers coach, with his team's season hanging in the brink after three consecutive losses -- two of which by way of ugly blowouts -- asked numerous veteran players to address their teammates and speak candidly about where the team was headed and where they wanted to go.
"Every time you get in a meeting as a coach, you want to figure out something that's going to affect the players," Shanahan shared after the game. "And when I say 'affect' them, make them practice better or play better, there's very rarely some special words that changes how guys play. But we did talk about the importance of this, where we were at. Regardless of the result, I wanted to make sure we came out today and showed grit. We wanted to fight."
Among the players who spoke were quarterback Brock Purdy, linebacker Fred Warner, tight end George Kittle, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and, maybe to some people's surprise, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
Most of those players have one thing in common: A large, white "C" on their jerseys. Lenoir is the only one who does not. His message resonated just as equally, if not louder.
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"Demo got up and talked, and Demo's not really a -- while he looks loud while he's on the football field -- he's much a lead-by-example [player] with the way that he plays," Kittle said postgame. "But when you give guys like that an opportunity to speak in front of the team, it means a lot.
"To everybody watching, to everybody listening, to everybody in that room. And we all respect and love Demo. For not just how he plays, but he's also a great teammate, he shows up every day, he works his tail off and he plays the game the right way."
The message was simple: Continue to battle, one game at a time.
"I think the message across the board, from all of the guys, whether it was Brock or myself or all of us, honestly, was just to fight," Warner said. "For one win. It was everything today. We treated it like a playoff game and that's what they are going forward. Every game means everything. We're just treating it one week at a time. It's a 1-0 mentality."
"I was just trying to keep it real and remind guys this isn't easy," Purdy added. "This job isn't for everybody, but who we have in this building, we have what it takes. And we've shown that the last couple years and we've just got to dig deep and find ourselves. And I think we did, I think guys responded to it. And really, I was just talking to myself, too. Not just preach to the guys, but remind myself how hard this thing is and how much of a competitor you have to be for four quarters and go and take it. Nothing's ever given to you."
While a 'take it one week at a time' kind of message is cliché for a team in the 49ers' situation, this iteration of it carries more weight given what the team has accomplished in the second half of recent seasons.
San Francisco, simply put, is desperate. There is no room for error, and likely no room for even one more loss if they hope to somehow sneak into the playoffs. Their backs are against the wall. How will they respond from here on out?
"The message was we need to play with more of a sense of urgency and play desperate," Kittle added. "Because you just haven't really sensed that. And I've been on teams where it's felt like -- two years ago we went on an eight, nine-game win streak or whatever that was -- and it felt like every play people were scratching, clawing and fighting for everything.
"That was kind of the message, like 'guys, just put it all out there.' Because we have the players, we have the play-makers, we have the play-calling, we have everything to win games and we have to do it out of desperation. And when you're playing desperate and when you're playing like 'hey if we don't win this game our season potentially is over,' that desperation fuels guys in different ways. And it's how you take that and how you channel that energy, and I thought our guys did a great job of that today."
Was Saturday night's team meeting the kick in the pants the 49ers needed? If Sunday's thumping of the Bears was the only indicator, the answer would be a resounding yes. Unfortunately for them, it's not.
There still is a lot more work to be done, starting with a primetime matchup on Thursday against one of the divisional opponents standing in their way of perhaps their only way back to the playoffs.