San Francisco, CA
5Q: Could Lions Embarass 49ers on Monday Night Football?
The Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers met 11 months ago at Levi’s Stadium with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. San Francisco used a furious second half comeback to steal the NFC Championship game, leaving the Lions walking off the field in defeat.
On Monday, the Lions will return to Levi’s Stadium looking to avenge that defeat. While the 49ers are eliminated from playoff contention, Detroit is pursuing the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. If the Minnesota Vikings lose to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, a win over the 49ers would give the Lions home-field advantage and a first-round bye.
Grant Cohn is a San Francisco 49ers beat writer for 49ers OnSI. He recently answered five questions to preview Monday’s game between the Lions and 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
1.) What have been the biggest factors contributing to the 49ers’ struggles this season?
Grant Cohn: The 49ers will say that injuries ruined their season, but that’s not the full story. The Lions have lots of injuries too, and they’re 13-2. The 49ers were bad early in the season before the injuries piled up. And that’s because they had more drama than any other team during the offseason — they had three holdouts — and those distractions carried over to the regular season (see Deebo Samuel punching the long-snapper on the sideline and De’Vondre Campbell quitting mid-game). In addition, the absence of Christian McCaffrey exposed Brock Purdy. Without McCaffrey to carry the offense, Purdy simply couldn’t win close games in the fourth quarter.
2.) Is Kyle Shanahan the right coach to lead the 49ers in the future?
Cohn: No. He’s awful in close games. His offense isn’t good anymore — it’s averaging fewer than 18 points per game since the bye week. And his quarterback is regressing. The 49ers need a fresh start and a new voice to lead the team. After eight years, it seems that Shanahan’s voice and message don’t resonate like they used to. You have to wonder if the older players blame him for their two Super Bowl collapses. If the Bears or another team were to call the 49ers and propose a trade for Shanahan, the 49ers should accept it and move on. Because if they keep him, they’ll struggle next season, too.
3.) San Francisco faces a big decision moving forward with Brock Purdy being extension-eligible this offseason. Do you believe Brock Purdy is deserving of a lengthy, top-of-the-market extension? Why or why not?
Cohn: No. Early in his career, he played in lots of blowouts because he had Christian McCaffrey, the Offensive Player of the Year. Without him, the 49ers have been in lots of close games this season, and Purdy has won only one of them. He routinely throws the interception in the fourth quarter that loses the game. He did it two weeks ago in a do-or-die matchup against the Rams in which the 49ers scored just six points and lost, and he did it again last week against the Dolphins. The 49ers should make Purdy play out the final year of his contract. He still has much to prove.
4.) What are 1-2 key matchups that could decide Monday’s game?
Cohn: Dee Winters vs. Jahmyr Gibbs. The 49ers have good cornerbacks, but they’ve struggled to cover quick running backs out of the backfield ever since Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl. Dee Winters simply isn’t as good as him. Last week, the 49ers gave up six catches for 70 yards to Dolphins running back Devon Achane. Look for Gibbs to have a huge game catching the ball and running it. The 49ers have given up four 100-yard rushers in their past five games.
5.) Who wins and why?
Cohn: The Lions have something to play for. The 49ers don’t. The Lions are good. The 49ers are not. This game won’t be close.
San Francisco, CA
Power outage affects 20,000 households in San Francisco
A large power outage left almost 40,000 PG&E customers without electricity in San Francisco Saturday, according to the company.
The PG&E Outage Center first reported the outage was affecting 24,842 customers, but a few minutes later, PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage was affecting 39,520 households in the areas of Richmond, Sunset, Presidio, Golden Gate Park and parts of downtown.
Officials warned traffic lights in these areas might be impacted and advise that if the traffic signal has gone dark, to treat it as a four-way stop.
According to the website, the outage was first reported at 10:10 a.m. and is expected to be restored at around 3:40 p.m., but PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage started at around 1:10 p.m. and the estimated time of restoration is unknown.
This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for updates.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco could vote again on whether to allow cars on the Great Highway
In San Francisco’s Sunset District, controversy continues over what to do with the Great Highway.
Friday, the newly-appointed supervisor for that district, Alan Wong, confirmed he is running to keep his job. He also shared that he would support a ballot measure that would bring cars back to the now-closed stretch of road. Some residents in the district already said they would be prepared to fight back against that ballot measure if it came to fruition.
This has been a politically tumultuous year for the Sunset District. In November of 2024, San Francisco voters narrowly approved Proposition K, which moved to close the highway along Ocean Beach to cars and to transform it into a park. In March of 2025, the stretch of road was permanently closed to cars, and in April, the area was officially reopened as Sunset Dunes Park. In September, voters recalled then-Supervisor Joel Engardio, with many in the campaign against Engardio expressing frustration with his support for turning the Great Highway into a park. In November, Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz as the new supervisor for District 4, only to have her resign a week later amid growing questions about her actions as a small business owner.
At the start of December, Mayor Lurie swore in Alan Wong as his new appointee to serve as supervisor in District 4. Wong grew up in the Sunset, attended Lincoln High School, and has served as both an elected member of the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees and as a legislative aid to former supervisor Gordon Mar.
In an interview with NBC Bay Area on Friday, Wong shared that he has not hidden the fact that he voted no on Prop. K in the 2024 election. However, in his first three weeks in office, Wong said he set out to “have conversations with different constituent groups and listen to them” about the issues.
“After three weeks of listening and having these conversations, I believe that my values and how I voted before align with the majority of the district,” Wong said.
San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong supports a ballot measure that calls for cars to return to the Great Highway.
“And as the district supervisor, I need to take a leadership role in representing the district that I am here to serve,” he continued.
Wong said he is now prepared to be one of the four supervisors supporting a ballot initiative to reopen the Great Highway to cars on weekdays.
Molly Rose, with Sunset Parent Advocates, worries that when Wong was listening to community voices over the past three weeks, some voices may have been left out.
“If he talked to the Sunset residents, he didn’t talk to me, and he didn’t talk to us– the family groups I am a part of,” Rose said.
“We are all very pro-park, we use it very heavily as a park,” she continued.
Rose said there are several hundred parents involved with her group. As a parent, Rose said her children love going to the park there.
“Sunset Dunes is the place where I take my kids to have a safe place to play,” she said.
Rose said that she has been asking for Wong to meet with her group, but has been waiting to hear back from his scheduling team.
Wong’s office confirmed that Rose is in touch with their office and that Wong’s scheduler is “actively coordinating a time” for them to meet.
“While I do think there is a very loud, anti-park contingent of people in the Sunset, I don’t think they’re the majority,” Rose emphasized.
San Francisco, CA
New SF supervisor supports reopening Great Highway on weekdays
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Alan Wong, the new supervisor for District four in San Francisco, has publicly expressed his support for reopening the Great Highway to vehicles on weekdays. This statement comes amid ongoing debates surrounding the highway’s conversion into a park last spring, which was met with mixed reactions from the community.
The Great Highway was transformed into a public park earlier this year, a change that many residents have embraced, while some local neighbors have pushed back. Joel Engardio, the former supervisor who supported this conversion through Measure K, was recalled this year, highlighting the division among constituents in District four.
Wong, who was appointed as supervisor following Engardio’s recall, filed paperwork to run for the elected position on the board. His term is set to last until January 2027, during which he aims to solidify his platform around reopening the Great Highway.
In his statement, Wong emphasized, “I believe my values align with a majority of Sunset residents who support reopening the Great Highway to cars on weekdays. As a result, I am prepared to be one of four supervisors needed to sponsor a ballot initiative to restore that compromise.” This suggests Wong’s intent to address community concerns head-on while building a wider consensus.
Prior to its conversion, the Great Highway allowed vehicles during the week and served as a park on weekends, a compromise Wong supports restoring. He aims to return to this model in response to feedback from local constituents.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.
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