49ers cruise by Titans in 37-24 win

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Kyle Shanahan received a pretty good birthday present from his team.

The San Francisco 49ers took care of business against the Tennessee Titans in a 37-24 victory on Sunday afternoon at Levi's Stadium.

In a game they were supposed to win, San Francisco put the game away in the third quarter with two Brock Purdy touchdowns as they entered the fourth quarter up 31-10. The 49ers quarterback had a very efficient game as he finished 23 of 30 for 295 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Purdy also showed off his ground game with 44 rushing yards on seven carries. The most memorable was a 26-yard scamper down the sideline where he pumped faked a throw before dancing out of bounds.

"He's a Jesus Christ lizard running on water," said 49ers tight end George Kittle. "Just no ball security. A fake pitch at the end of a 40-yard run. Absolutely just diabolical behavior by our QB one."

Kittle had one of his best games of the season. The colorful, outspoken tight end had eight catches on nine targets for 88 yards with a third quarter touchdown that he caught all alone in the endzone after a jump pass from Purdy. Kittle emphasized that his team didn't fall into the trap game mentality against the Titans despite AFC South bottom dweller only having two wins on the season.

“We're fighting for a playoff spot. So, if anybody goes out there and is sleepy or not thinking that we're going to get a challenge, I don't need them around me. Every game from this moment on is a huge game for us. Whether it's trying to make it into the playoffs, whatever it is, I want to play games in January and the only way to do that is to beat every single team. So, I think we were pretty hyper focused, everyone was feeling good after a bye,” Kittle said at the end of his press conference.

San Francisco has won its fourth game in a row and six out of its last seven. Speaking of the bye this is the fourth straight season they have come off of their bye week with a win and are 6-3 after the bye week since 2017. The 49ers have not let their injuries affect them during this stretch run they are currently on.

Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall led the Niners in receiving six receptions for 96 yards as the Titans secondary had trouble containing his speed as Pearsall continues to make his case to be the team's number one wide receiver. Jauan Jennings had just three catches for 37 yards but two of those went for touchdown receptions, as he exceeded his career best with seven touchdowns on the season, including the game's opening touchdown.

The 49ers (10-4) remained in the third place in the NFC West, a half-game behind both the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. The Rams defeated the Detroit Lions 41-34 in a high scoring affair down at SoFi Stadium. The Seahawks escaped with a 18-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts, who had recently unretired 44-year old Philip Rivers start at quarterback. Speaking of those Colts, it just so happens to be the next opponent for San Francisco as they head out to the new hotbed of football for a Monday Night Football showdown at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The 49ers defense kept rookie quarterback and this year's overall number one pick Cam Ward at bay. Ward spent most of the day scrambling out of the pocket, some were by design, having to create offense with his legs. While Ward did his best to not get sacked on the day, he did look like a rookie quarterback with not much talent around him as he overthrew and underthrow his receivers on multiple occasions. However, Ward's athleticism did show flashes of brilliance on two consecutive plays in the fourth quarter. First, he connected with Van Jefferson on a 43-yard bomb down the middle of the field that set up the Titans at the 49ers one-yard line. The next play, Ward scrambled to the right in what seemed to be forever before launching a pass to the back of the endzone where defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons caught the ball for his second career offensive touchdown.

Ward went 18 of 29 for 170 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Gunner Helm led Tennessee (2-12) in receiving with four catches for 49 yards and one touchdown.

The one bright spot for Tennessee's offense was running back Tony Pollard. The veteran half back finished with 104 yards on 14 carries with a rushing touchdown to lead all rushers. On the flip side, his counterpart Christian McCaffery had a relatively quiet day with just 73 yards on 22 carries and just one reception for 14 yards. Credit the Titans defense for keeping tabs on Run CMC for the majority of the game as they made sure it was Purdy and the passing attack that was going to beat them and not the all-pro running back.

Despite winning their fourth game in a row, San Francisco stayed in the sixth spot in the NFC Playoff race. It would take a catastrophic collapse for them not to make the playoffs. This Thursday's night Prime Video matchup between the Rams and Seahawks will help shape the NFC West race and possible number one seed with three weeks of the regular season remaining.

Looking ahead the 49ers schedule gets tougher with the forementioned Colts next on the tilt. Despite having a grandpa as their new starting quarterback, their defense is stout and can create havoc for opposing offenses. Then they close out the regular season with a pair of home games. A Sunday Night Football matchup against the Chicago Bears and then finish up against Seattle which could be for the division crown and the top seed in the NFC, which comes with a bye. That game's day and time is still to be determined, but if all things were to line up for San Francisco, that could be the game that gets flexed to the final game of the regular season on Sunday evening of Week 18.

For the birthday boy, who turned 46 today, Shanahan iterated his team isn't looking too far ahead as the playoffs approach.

“When the number's right in front of us," Shanahan responded when asked about the number needed to make the playoffs. "When we play a game and we can do the math and it says if you win this game, you're in. If not, you don't really think about it”