Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Saturday, December 9th, 2023
Thompson: Deebo Samuel is the 49ers’ soul — and they need all of it now (paywall)
“Samuel is their resident truthteller. The blunt persona. The candid alter ego. The scold in the scarlet and gold. He says what they mean, and they mean what he says. And now that the target is on their back, now that they’ve been identified as bullies of the league, the 49ers could use the swag to maintain their edge.
To be sure, Samuel doesn’t put it in them. The 49ers are this good because they have it. Up and down the roster. But Deebo is the flagbearer of that spirit. The face peering out of the window of the truck steamrolling towards a title.”
NFL MVP? Maybe. But 49ers’ Brock Purdy could finish in company of legends (paywall)
“Purdy leads the NFL in passer rating (116.1), yards per attempt (9.6) and completion percentage (70.2), and those numbers would rank ninth, 10th and 17th, respectively, in NFL history. Purdy’s passer rating would break Steve Young’s franchise record (112.8) set in 1994, and his yards per attempt would break John Brodie’s team record (9.1) set in 1961. Purdy is threatening Young’s franchise mark for completion percentage (70.3).
In addition, Purdy is on pace to throw for 4,512 yards, which would break Jeff Garcia’s franchise mark (4,278) set in 2000. Purdy would become the first S.F. QB to throw for 4,000 yards since Garcia did so 23 years ago, when Purdy was 1.”
Five 49ers to watch vs. Seahawks in Week 14 NFC West showdown
“Previously, Ward would play the left side. Whichever receiver lined up on that side, that’s who Ward would cover.
Now, it looks as if it might become the norm for Ward to mirror the opposition’s top receiver.
“I think his level of confidence is there,” 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. “I think he’s playing with great technique, eyes in the right spot. I think he’s just really locked in and focused.”
Ward’s happiness at home leading to production on field for 49ers
“Ward spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area about the shift in his life as a father to his 1-year-old daughter, Amani Joi, who has Down syndrome.
“The past month, my daughter has started smiling when she sees me and coming to me more,” Ward said. “At first, she used to love on her mama so much, I couldn’t really get close to her. Now since she turned 1, she has started to smile every time she sees me.”
It hasn’t been an easy road for Ward and his girlfriend, Monique, who spent weeks uncertain of Amani’s health immediately after she was born. Then in April, at 4 months old, Amani underwent successful open heart surgery.
Not being able to bond with his first-born heavily weighed on Ward.
“It was on my conscience,” Ward said. “Why can’t I connect to my daughter? This is my seed. I couldn’t connect with her at all, and it was hurting my feelings. It was on my mind a lot. I’m not trying to make excuses, but ever since we got closer, I’ve been balling. Shout-out to God and my daughter for making that relationship good.”
49ers’ win streak over Seahawks fueled by control of both sides of passing game (paywall)
“Charvarius has played at a high level for us — but his best football, to me, is when he’s got a really big challenge like DK Metcalf,” Lynch told KNBR last week. “You bite your tongue. You say, ‘I don’t want to be that guy delving into coaching.’ But at the same time, Kyle and I talk about everything, and I just said, ‘Man, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you I think we should be doing this.’ And next thing you know, we rectify it. And that’s what it takes. It takes good communication throughout a building. Things like that happen a lot more than you’d think from a variety of people. I’m glad we did it, though.”
“If Smith is unable to play, Seattle will turn to Drew Lock with recently signed Sean Mannion as the backup.
Running backs Kenneth Walker (oblique) and Zach Charbonnet (knee), and nose tackle Jaron Reed (hamstring) and linebacker Jordyn Brooks (ankle) also are listed as questionable.”