Niners grab the ball, keep, and roll to a 10th victory

No way the San Francisco 49ers were going to lose this one. They were matched against a team less competent and less successful.

And no, they didn’t lose, defeating the semi-hapless Tennessee Titans 37-24 at Levi Stadium.

Now things change. Now the Niners play in order, the Indianapolis Colts and their 41-year-old quarterback, Philip Rivers, who either just stepped out of a dream or a phone booth—the very surprising and very successful Chicago Bears, and as an announcer would say, last but not least, the Seattle Seahawks. 

This past weekend was a fascinating one for the NFL. There was Rivers, who was in retirement for four years, there were the Kansas City Chiefs, who were knocked into temporary retirement and out of the playoffs. And there were the Buffalo Bills, who overcame the New England Patriots to take their position in the postseason and maybe take our breath away with their comeback victory.

There may have been less drama in San Francisco’s win, but the Niners will take things the way they come, whether exciting or less so. The Niners haven’t had many games as this one, where they were heavily favored, 12.5 points over the Titans.

That’s a good sign, but you have to play up to the expectations.

Which they did, giving them a tenth victory, and an impressive 27th time they’ve won that many games going back to 1981. 

How far San Francisco advances in the postseason is hard to predict, especially with the defense limited by the season-ending injuries to Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. Still, that offense seems more than capable. Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Juaun Jennings caught 2 of those, and George Kittle caught the other. The ground game was efficient, with 138 net yards.

Purdy has won all four games he started since coming back from the turf toe injury that kept him out for a month and a half.

“I play with a chip on my shoulder,” said Purdy. “You have to go out and attack and not let up.”

Purdy, armed with his $53 million contract signed last spring, is very much the leader and driving force a winning franchise needs.

“When I do my job well,” said Purdy, “I keep thinking how can I get more out of the players and have fun too?”

He got plenty out of Jennings (remember during camp when he wanted to be traded?), Ricky Pearsall (6 receptions for 96 yards), and Kittle (8 receptions for 88 yards).

Amazing going this far in a 49er story without mentioning Christian McCaffrey. OK. He had 73 yards on 22 carries. A deliberate if not explosive afternoon.

There wasn’t much for head coach Kyle Shanahan to say except, “We did well on 3rd downs and had long drives”.

The Niners took the ball and hardly gave it up, keeping it for 37 minutes and recording 28 first downs. That’s domination. That’s what should have happened against the Titans. And that’s what did happen.