49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
Opening comments:
"Alright, the injuries: [WR Emmanuel] Sanders had ribs, didn't return. [DL] D.J. Jones, groin, didn't return. [LB] Azeez [Al-Shaair] had a concussion, no return. [C/G Weston] Richburg, hand, he did return. [RB Matt] Breida with an ankle, no return and [DL Ronald] Blair with a knee, no return. I don't know anything more on it right now."
Is WR Marquise Goodwin okay?
"Yeah, his forearm, I think, was cramping up. Something with that, but he returned."
How do you view this? Do you view this as a game, you were glad to see the competitive level or do you view it as just mad you didn't win it?
"Both. You're always disappointed when you don't win, Especially, when we felt we had a number of chances. I was very proud of our guys. I thought we competed very hard. Guys left it all out there. I know guys are hurting right now. I thought all three phases played hard. I thought our defense was unbelievable. I thought the offense played as hard as they could but made way too many mistakes to be able to pull out a win in that game."
What's the moral in the locker room right now?
"I think they're disappointed. I think guys are exhausted right now. Guys left a lot out there. We've got a lot of guys banged up who came out of the game and a lot of guys were, I think, hurting throughout that game. So, I think the guys left it all out there. I know they are exhausted. I know they are disappointed with the loss, but I think they are excited to rest tomorrow and get right back at it next week."
Is that about as physical of a game as you guys have played?
"I thought we had a pretty physical one verse the Rams earlier. I think we've had a number of physical games. Pittsburgh was like that. Going the extra time, the 5th quarter like that and using all that always takes a toll on players."
Did you think about going for it on 4-and-1 right there on that last field goal?
"No, honestly never entered my mind right there. I think we were three-for-three at the time and thought it was close enough for him. No, it didn't enter my mind right there."
Coaches have been complaining for years about turnovers and about how they ruin a game. You guys are rolling a long, great defense, 10-0 and then turn it over and the game goes the other way.
"Huge. Yeah, that was a huge one. Especially, when they return it and score. That was their first time getting in the end zone, changed the momentum of the game. [S Jaquiski] Tartt made an unbelievable play getting that turnover before the half, which got us back or kind of settled them down a little bit. I think we had three turnovers on offense today and I think we got four, but it comes to points off of it and I believe we only had seven points off turnovers and they had 21. Obviously, the difference right there."
I know you wanted to drive the field for the win on the final drive, but were you disappointed you couldn't take some more time off the clock?
"Yeah, definitely. The first down, you're expecting to get a completion. They got a tipped ball. The second one, we've got to be able to throw and catch there between [WR] Dante [Pettis] and [QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo]. And then you get stuck in 3-and-10 like that, so definitely didn't want to run it right there on 3-and-10, wanted to go for the first down. Definitely wish we took more time of the clock, but was counting on us catching one of those balls."
How much of a loss of TE George Kittle and Sanders, you didn't have Kittle and then lost Sanders? How much did that affect your offense?
"They're our two best playmakers, so it definitely takes a toll. We knew that coming in with George. We kind of realized that was going to happen today. Emmanuel was out there battling. Had that happen with his ribs. He tried to go a few more series longer, but he had to go out. Other guys came in, some guys stepped it up at times. We just didn't have the consistency out there."
Is there any indication of the severity of Sanders injury?
"Not sure yet."
He'll get an MRI tomorrow?
"Yes."
Did this game just feel different? I know every game is valuable, but was this game, with your record and their record, the energy in the stadium, did it feel different?
"I think the energy in the stadium did. I think our stadium has been great all year, but from kickoff, starting at kickoff, even before kickoff today, it was pretty wild out there. You could feel it at the sidelines right after the National Anthem."
As a play caller, can you talk about the drops? How do you coach around drops?
"You just keep coming back. You've got to do what you've got to do win the game. If you feel not confident in that stuff as a play caller, you go a different direction. If you think that's what you've got to do to try to win the game, then you've got to count on guys. I think some guys made a bunch of good plays out there but the drops were pretty obvious. We had some big ones, some big moments and those guys have to bounce back. You can't just win the game just running the ball or just throwing the ball. You've got to be able to do both. You're going to have some good ones and some bad ones, but you've got to make sure you bounce back and not have one like that again."
What was your assessment of Jimmy Garoppolo's play?
"I think like the whole offense, I thought he battled. I thought he battled very hard. Hung in the pocket for a while. I thought he made some big plays, but I know he made a number of plays he'd like to have back."
What did you see out of it WR Deebo Samuel? It looked like he was playing angry tonight.
"He's as fearless as it gets going over the middle. He has strong hands. He had that one drop, I know he'd love to have that back. With Kittle out and Emmanuel going out, Deebo was the guy, I think, everyone was feeling the most out there. I think what you guys saw, I could feel also. He stepped up and made some pretty big plays today. He's just got to keep working to get better."
What were your impressions of the offensive line, particularly T Joe Staley and T Mike McGlinchey?
"It's hard for me to tell just watching the game live, because I'm not always watching just them. I think everyone on the offense had their moments, but I think no one was consistent enough. I thought they gave us some decent time to throw. We didn't always get guys open right away and I think we struggled in the run game. I think that was pretty obvious. There weren't a lot of clean lanes were used to having."
This was the largest deficit you have played with in a game. How was Jimmy on the sideline?
"Jimmy doesn't really change. Jimmy is always the same, so there's no difference there. I think our guys, just watching our defense continuing to get us back in the game and give us those opportunities, I think our guys were fired up every time they went out there. Our guys were fired up. We thought we really had a chance to win it there at the end and just came up short."
The last play, Fred Warner's forced fumble on the offensive lineman.
"No, it was pretty impressive. I didn't get to see all of it. I saw the ball, I saw the starting of the sack and the ball came out and I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but it was a huge play that got us back in it."
49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo
Kind of an imperfect end to a perfect season so far, are you kind of disappointed in the way that it happened? You guys had some good, had some bad.
"Yeah, I mean, it was a tough fought game. It's a good team, so we knew it was going to be a tough fight and everything. I thought our guys battled up until the end. It was a tough loss."
How do you evaluate the offense without TE George Kittle or WR Emmanuel Sanders?
"I think we just had too many self-imposed mistakes and I think that's what hurt us. When you put yourself behind like that, it's hard to catch up, so just little things we've got to clean up."
You mentioned the self-inflicted mistakes, but there were a lot of drops out there tonight. Obviously, one was for an interception, a couple were stalling out the drive. What were you seeing out there and correcting some of those?
"I think I could throw the ball better, we could catch it better. I think it's just a little bit of everything. There's not one specific thing that sticks out, but it's a bit of a reality check for us. We'll go back and respond this week."
Being without guys like Kittle and Emmanuel, how did WR Deebo Samuel perform today?
"I thought Deebo played good. The receivers were battling. We had some injuries happen and people were being mixed and matched in different spots, but I thought overall those guys played well. We've just got to make plays when your number's called."
What did you think of the defense today and how they played?
"I thought the defense battled. They did a tremendous job, gave us opportunities, especially [LB] Dre's [Greenlaw] pick there at the end, gave us an opportunity to get the field goal. Just game up short. I love having a defense like that."
How different of a game was it with the turnovers back and forth like that?
"Yeah, it was a crazy game, it was, even early on, throughout the entire game. We knew how the game was going to be with Seattle. These division games are never easy, but kind of exactly what we expected."
Knowing that it's going to be a roller-coaster, how do you, the quarterback, make sure that the offense deals with the self-inflicted wounds, the issues that you guys have?
"It's just about execution at the end of the day. It's nothing crazy, just got to go do your job, execute and move on play after play and just do that throughout the entire game. We've been good at that, it just, we had a couple hiccups tonight. Just got to correct them and move on."
Losing Emmanuel, how much did that affect your game and where you went with the ball?
"That's kind of the mixing and matching I was talking about before, just guys playing a couple different positions. The game plan, we made some in-game adjustments and things like that, like we always do, but it wasn't anything crazy."
How did you play overall?
"I thought the offense as a whole did a good job. I think we attacked when we had the opportunities, just got to make some more plays out there."
CB Richard Sherman says he learns a lot more from a loss than a win. Obviously, you guys are stacked up on wins, this is your first loss. What do you take away from this?
"Well you go back and you watch the tape. You've got to be critical on yourself, what could we have done better? What caused this to happen and it's just got to be hard on yourself. I think we've got a good group of guys in there with the mindset. We're going to come into work tomorrow and fight."
49ers WR Kendrick Bourne
Tonight you were without San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle, and without San Francisco 49ers WR Emmanuel Sanders for most of the game. How did you think you guys responded?
"To every situation I think we responded really well. Even in the two-minute situations we started terrible and then it started to click in the last few downs. Kuddos to all of the guys just fighting hard, that was a tough fought game. Kuddos to those guys too [Seattle Seahawks], they played really well. I feel like they came ready with their hard hats. I give a lot of respect to those guys. For us, just like the adversity we have seen throughout the year. That was one of the toughest, most adverse games we have seen. I think how we responded to each situation, even the defense, how they got that touchdown, and [San Francisco 49ers LB Dre] Greenlaw on the last play. The momentum shifts, that we kept getting with the momentum being bad already, was pretty impressive by us."
How do you put drops behind you?
"I am pretty bad with that. I am kind of one of those guys that will beat up on himself. Just having good teammates telling me to keep my head up. Just not really thinking about it. It is tough, especially how it got an interception off of it, that is what really gets at me more than a drop. Even the second one almost got picked. I am just down on myself because those type of things can happen. It is just about focusing in on the ball, because I know I can catch the ball, it is not hard. Sometimes you just squeeze it harder than other situations. When I am wide open I tend to get more relaxed than when someone is on me."
49ers DL DeForest Buckner
You were a part of one of the more amazing plays of the game. Walk us through the play.
"Yeah, let's see. I mean, it was a critical situation. We needed to get a big stop or get the ball back for the offense and make a short field. I mean, we were all just rushing and [Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson] Russell was just wrapped up. Pretty sure the guys got to him and I saw one of the linemen take the ball from him and was just wondering 'what the hell is this dude doing?' you know what I mean? He tried to run with it, which was crazy, so I tried to wrap him up and get the ball out. Didn't know that [LB] Fred [Warner] punched it out, I thought I ripped it out. That hurt. But then I saw the opportunity to scoop it up and make a big play in the game and get some energy back for the team. I saw it and it was, what, about a 20-yard return. Thank the lord, because I was tired. Yeah, it was a great play and tried to bring it back. Tried to help the team and we just came up short."
You guys did a pretty tough job today on Russell Wilson
"Yeah, I mean, he's one of those guys that when you're rushing you've got to keep an eye on him. He's looking for, if he doesn't have a guy open, he's looking to create a play and looking for some rush lanes to open and he got us a couple times. Up front, we've got to do a better job knowing where we're at in our rushes."
How do you expect this team to bounce back, just knowing what you know about this group?
"Yeah, I mean, the guys fought hard, man. It's the little details that we've got to clean up as a unit. You know, offense, defense, special teams. We all made mistakes to come up short tonight and we all know that. I'm just proud of each and every one of the guys for fighting as much as we could, just trying to give us a chance to come out with the win. We came up short. All the guys know the work that we put in each and every single day. It was a little gut check taking this L tonight, but we're going to bounce back."
49ers LB Dre Greenlaw
What did you see on Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson's pass? Can you take us through the return?
"At that time I had man coverage on the hot too, so basically I had anybody coming out to the flat. I looked back inside and saw the quarterback looking that way and instinctively, I opened my hips and tried to do what I can do to get as much yardage to put my team in a position to try to win the game."
What were your emotions like when the play ended?
"It was unreal at the time then it went back to reality. It is about trying to win the game. That is the goal. At first it felt unreal and then it was like we still haven't won the game."
San Francisco 49ers S Jaquiski Tartt credited you with telling the defense before that play, that they haven't scored yet. What was it that you said?
"I told them that they are not in the end zone yet so it is up to us to get a stop. That is just the mentality that we have to have as a defense. That is the mentality that we all have. It doesn't matter if it is fourth and one at the one-yard line. They are not in the end zone, they still didn't get any points so just keep playing our hearts out."
Do you know what went wrong on the Russell Wilson scramble before the game winning field goal?
"I'm not sure. I have to probably go back and watch film."
As a linebacker how difficult is it to contain Russell Wilson?
"It is very difficult. It is everybody's job on the defense from the front seven point-of-view. He is a great quarterback, he is going to make plays, he moves with the best of them. We just have to make sure that we do our jobs, be assignment sound, make sure everyone is in their gaps and be able to play off when he is ready to scramble around."
49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk
What do you think the issues were with the running game tonight?
"They were on it. They seem to have game planned us pretty well. They were moving a lot. When teams start getting gashed by us they tend to start blitzing more, moving pieces and they got us on a couple of them."
Is it frustrating that this is the first time that you guys weren't able to counter punch when teams make you one dimensional?
"Yes. Definitely. That is a weird feeling. Usually, we have always answered this whole season on offense. We felt like we could have done a much better job. Our defense played their freaking tails off. They made some amazing plays and we wanted to compliment them and we didn't do a good job of it tonight."
What is the counter punch when teams are doing that because it seems like that is going to happen?
"It's just capitalizing on plays. We just had a lot of miscues whether it was a missed block or a dropped ball, missed assignment. It is just not having those miscues in those moments."
Have you ever been involved in a game that had so many momentum swings?
"It is definitely up there. I played in a game in Baltimore with five lead changes in the last two minutes against Minnesota which was pretty wild, but I think this one takes the cake. This was one of the most emotionally draining games that I have been part of."
How do you feel after this game?
"Physically, I feel good. I have no problem with the injuries coming back. It was a physical game out there, so I am going to be a little sore tomorrow, but I feel good."
When did you feel like you were able to shake off the rust of not playing in a while?
"Honestly in the second half. The first half I felt like I hadn't played some football in a little bit. I felt like I settled in the second half."
49ers K Chase McLaughlin
The life of a kicker is filled with ups and downs. The first two you drilled right down the middle. What was your thought process on those two and then on the last one?
"The thought process is the same every time. Pick a spot and hit it clean and let it go through."
How hard is this to come in as an epic opportunity and it is disappointing at the finish?
"Like you said, it is the life of a kicker. There are a lot of ups and downs. You have to just stay constant through it. There are a lot of highs and lows, and you've just got to keep moving on day by day."
Did your preparation leading up to this, did it feel rushed, did it feel different than weeks past in your career?
"No, it felt great. Coach [special teams coordinator Richard] Hightower did a great job getting me acclimated with the team and the operation of everything. It felt fantastic leading up to it and it felt good."
What kind of interaction did you have with San Francisco 49ers K Robbie Gould throughout the night?
"We talked a little bit throughout the night. He was very supportive through it all. Any questions I had he was there to answer them. He was definitely a big help."
49ers WR Deebo Samuel
Looks like the offense had trouble finding a rhythm tonight. Any particular reason why?
"We just have to make the catches that are coming our way. We have to make a better effort at bringing those balls down."
How much did you guys miss San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle tonight?
"We miss him. He is a key to our offense. He brings more energy to our offense."
Seems like the defense gave you guys so many chances to win this football game, given the fact that you guys weren't able to come through, how frustrating is that?
"It is very frustrating. We have to come down with the balls that are coming our way. We also have to block up front. We just have to play better as a whole, especially on third downs."
Is it encouraging to say that if we take care of business with the ball, this is a whole different ball game?
"It is just our mentality, the ball is everything to us. We just have to come down and protect the ball."
How do you keep momentum from stopping coming in to next week?
"We can't dwell on this. The perfect season would be great, but that is not how this league goes. We just have to capitalize from here on out."
49ers CB Richard Sherman
First loss of the season. What was the locker room like after the game?
"It was fine. You don't treat both the same, success and failure, because neither one of them are fatal. It's a learning experience, guys battled and we had a chance to win it. We've got to play better on both sides of the ball. All three phases we've got to play better football. On defense, we've got to give ourselves a chance. We've got to get those stops on those sudden changes. So, at the end of the day, it's a good learning lesson for us. Guys battled, there was a ton of mistakes that guys made but then we made a ton of huge plays to give us a chance."
Obviously, you guys didn't execute as well as you could. How did you feel the team responded to the physical challenge of the Seahawks?
"I think we responded fine. We had a chance to win the game, but we didn't get it done at the end of the day. That's all you can hope for. Guys battled, we battled for 60-plus minutes, all the way down to the wire. All of our guys, through a bunch of injuries, guys going up and down. We will watch the film, we will learn from it. We will correct the things that need to be corrected and we will get ready for Arizona."
Felt like the defense played unbelievable. How did you feel the defense played?
"We played hard, that's for sure. We tried to give ourselves a chance. We didn't play up to our standard, there were plays that were sudden changes, we were backed up but you've got to find a way to get those stops. I think everybody in that room would say 'I've got to make a play.' Somebody has to make a play in those situations. One of those situations [S Jaquiski] Tartt made a heck of a play and got us off the field, but I or somebody else have got to find a way to make a play and get those guys stopped and hold them to a field goal. So, at the end of the day you can only point the finger at yourself and try to get better that way, work hard and get ready for the next opponent."
49ers S Jaquiski Tartt
How frustrating is the loss, given how well the defense played?
"It is very frustrating. We left it all on the field tonight and we came up with a loss, it is frustrating."
Can you take us back through your strip on the goal-line and what happened from your angle?
"I was just trying to make a play. Every play is the defense's mindset to get the ball. For us, they are not in the end-zone until they are in the end-zone. For me, I was just trying to strip the ball, and I just happened to take it away from him."
What was said in the huddle while they were driving in overtime before San Francisco 49ers LB Dre Greenlaw's pick?
"To be honest Dre is the one that was like 'it ain't in the end-zone today, it ain't in the end-zone.' Then the next play he picked the ball off. Take your hat off to Dre for making a turnover like that."
How difficult is it to contain Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson?
"He is a special player. He is the guy that drives their offense. He did what he usually does so give him credit."
How happy were you with the defensive effort tonight?
"We played great. We left everything on that field, we tried our best to keep creating turnovers and we came up short."
49ers LB Fred Warner
Can you explain the fumble and touchdown play?
"Yeah, that was a crazy play. They tried to run a tight end screen. [LB] Dre [Greenlaw] did a great job sniffing it out, grabbing him. I don't know how the tackle, or whoever that was, ended up having the ball in his hands. I was confused at first, but then I saw [DL DeForest Buckner] Buck grab him and I came up and, you know, took a shot at it. It popped out, DeFo made a hell of a play, ran it back and gave us some life. Huge play by DeFo."
What's the mood of the team and how much can you learn from this game going forward just given that you guys haven't been in a ton of close games or back and forth games at this point?
"Yeah, it sucks. Everybody is, you know, pretty disappointed. But, at the same time, this loss is not going to define us. We have an extremely tight-knit group. We've got a big game against Arizona coming up, so preparation starts as soon as we get home. We've got to make sure we're covered."
How did LB Dre Greenlaw play and what were your impressions of the interception in overtime?
"Dre did outstanding. I thought he had a great game. He was out there communicating, lining up with urgency, making plays. That play where he intercepted the ball was just insane. I'm thinking I was going to have a chance at it because [Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson] Russell lobbed it up. Just the execution of that play and what we were running, I honestly couldn't believe it was so, you know, kind of surreal. He's a great player, very instinctive and it showed tonight for sure."
