What the 49ers are saying after beating the Panthers
Hear from Shanahan, Garoppolo, Samuel, Warner and others after the 49ers beat the Panthers.
The 49ers picked up their first road win of the season and took the NFC West division lead with a 37-15 win over the Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday.
The highlight play of the day came when Emmanuel Moseley gave the 49ers their second game in a row with a pick-six, intercepting a Baker Mayfield pass and running it back 41 yards for a touchdown.
But the story of the early evening was the litany of injuries suffered on the Bank of America Stadium turf. Star defensive end Nick Bosa didn’t play in the second half with a groin injury, safety Jimmie Ward left after one play with a left hand injury, and both kicker Robbie Gould and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley picked up knee injuries — and Shanahan said that the 49ers fear Moseley’s may be a significant one.
The 49ers offense had a nearly perfect balance between passes and rushes, with Jimmy Garoppolo completing 18-of-30 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns through the air. On the ground, Jeff Wilson Jr. led the way with 17 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown, and Tevin Coleman added a rushing and receiving touchdown.
And with the Seahawks, Rams and Cardinals all losing on Sunday, the 49ers lead the NFC West at 3-2.
Here’s what the 49ers had to say after the win:
KYLE SHANAHAN
On Bosa’s groin injury and if he could have gone back in:
“It was just tight … It was a little tight all day. At the end of the second quarter though, you could see him coming off the field and we looked into it at halftime and didn’t feel like he could go.”
On Gould’s left knee injury:
“Most likely just a contusion.”
On Moseley’s left knee injury:
“We’re doing all the stuff now. We’re worried about an ACL, but we can’t confirm that. … Out there, it [wasn’t good]. We’ll see when we get the MRI.”
On Tevin Coleman’s two touchdowns:
“Tevin’s awesome. It’s great to have him back here. Those two touchdowns were awesome. I can’t believe the play he made on that third down, the go route versus a corner, going up for that ball. That was huge, keeping us on the field. It was awesome for him to step up.”
On Coleman being a bigger factor in the passing game than in the past:
“He had four catches for 130 versus the Broncos in 2016. We wanted to get him on a go route, that was planned. Everything else was screens and he did a good job on the check-downs.”
On Samuel’s big drive to go up by two scores again:
“It was needed. I thought we did some really good things in the first half. Came up short on the field goal, had a turnover. I think we punted once in the first half, but wanted a lot more points than 10. It was awesome that the defense got that score to get us to 17. When they came out and they scored on their opening drive, it was huge to answer. I thought that was big time, and then I believe we did it the next drive too. And the defense kept playing strong.”
On Jennings’ day:
“Those were two really big third downs. There were a number of things we missed on offense today, but I thought the plays that the guys made, whether it was Jauan there, Tevin on another third down, George [Kittle] on I believe the first third down of the game, a number of throws Jimmy made on third down. I thought the guys made a ton of plays and that’s why it ended up looking good.”
On balancing the feelings starting a long road trip with a win but picking up several injuries:
“It’s the same. It was tough there at the end. It was a weird feeling there, watching E-Man. Lots of guys got hurt in the game, but it didn’t look good. That definitely took away from a little bit of excitement at the end. But we know the deal, it’s part of this league and everybody goes through it. That was a tough one today. I love how we get to go to the Greenbrier, I love how our guys get to stay together — it’s a lot easier to focus when we do that. Hopefully we’ll get some better news on some of these guys.”
On if Verrett could play next week:
“He could. It’s a lot to ask from him, just the injury he’s coming back [from]. We only really got one full-speed practice last week that he could test it on. It was easier for Jimmie, just having training camp. We’ll see how these three practices go this week. We’d love to have that option, but we won’t change it based off of what happened to E-Man. Just have to see if he’s ready.”
On 49ers fans showing up in droves:
“Our fans are awesome everywhere we go. It’s so cool there at the end, hearing them chant our guys’ names. I didn’t know that until I got here, but our fans travel as good as any team I’ve been on.”
On if it felt more balanced between offense and defense:
“I thought all three phases did a good job. We obviously missed a couple on special teams — I thought those two big returns put the defense in a difficult situation. We at least held them to a field goal. But just overall, really happy with the team.”
On if Bosa injury changes offensive playcalling:
“No. Losing a player on defense doesn’t affect playcalling on offense. Just how the game goes affects that stuff. Just because you’re missing a player doesn’t mean things will go different, you just watch and adjust and try to get a feel for the game.”
On opening the game with a touchdown:
“I thought it was big because we made some huge third downs on that drive, especially the third play of the game to George. To make those big plays, to keep us out there and I believe we got a long run from Jeff to get down there and finish it. I wish we could do that every time. That’s always the goal.”
On Wilson’s day:
“We know Jeff very well, he’s been here for a while. Whatever role we ask Jeff to do, he’s ready. I’ve got as much respect for Jeff as anyone I’ve coached. He’s a tough dude, went through a lot in this game and kept going. It was nice to get some other guys in there and get some reps, I thought our running back group stepped up.”
On Garoppolo’s play:
“I thought he played really well today. I thought he made some big plays, some big throws. He didn’t turn the ball over, which was huge. That’s a big thing, it’s always a big thing, but it was a really big emphasis coming into this game. I was really happy with Jimmy.”
JIMMY GAROPPOLO
On getting the offense rolling:
“Some drives. I think we’ve still got room for improvement. There were some drives where we just killed ourselves. Simple things we can fix. But today was a good day. We were rolling pretty good.”
On the drive that got momentum back:
“That was big. That whole drive, I think it was 15 plays or something. To cap it off like that, with Deebo coming up with a great catch by him. Guys were making plays today. O-line played great, clean pockets. That’s where it starts.”
On he he handles seeing injuries:
“It’s tough. It is football so you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt, but everyone in there, it’s a tight locker room. It sucks whenever we lose a guy like. I know we lost E, Jimmie, there was some random stuff today. But it’s football, we’ve got to keep going. The train ain’t stopping.”
On Coleman and his touchdown pass to him:
“I’ve been with Tev in the past. He’s Mr. Reliable, he really is. He’s one of those guys, you know where he’s going to be, you know he’s going to do the right thing. Whenever you have a guy like that as a quarterback, you can put that ball up and trust him and it’s fun. I didn’t even see the play but I heard it was awesome.”
“Mr. Reliable, man. He’s just always in the right spot. He’s very calm. But he brings that energy. Some of the cuts he made today, you don’t see that very often from running backs. Him and Jeff, across the board we were playing well offensively. We’ve got a ways to go, but it was fun.”
On Coleman’s catch on the sideline:
“It was blitz zero, so I did have other options. Those options weren’t great. I knew Tev was one-on-one. Just wanted to give him a shot. I mean, you try to make the right play every time but it’s not always going to go perfect.”
On Wilson being back to where he was pre-meniscus injury last year:
“You can feel it. You can feel it in practice. You can feel it on game day. It’s nice having a guy like that. He kind of leads that room and sets the tone for them, especially in practice. You need a guy like that and we’re going to rely on him a lot more going forward.”
On the offensive line performance:
“It’s tough, whenever those guys are mixing and matching like that, I thought Jake (Brendel) did a great job. Across the board those guys played great. That’s a good defense. They were giving us some tough looks with pressure and I thought they handled it great.”
On if Jauan Jennings could be a wide back:
“He’s dangerous when he gets the ball in his hands. I was telling some of the guys, we’ve just got to get the ball in his hands. Doesn’t even matter how we do it. He’s kind of our third-down specialist, makes those big plays and they just can’t tackle him. He’s a big body out there and he runs with purpose, that’s for sure.”
“The one coming from left to right, he almost scored on it, you could just see half our offense was celebrating with him like it’s a touchdown. We had to get in the huddle and figure it all out, but that’s the energy we want. I can remember at the end of last year he was bringing that stuff and kind of reminded me about it today. Just need to keep that going.”
DEEBO SAMUEL
On not getting any catches or runs early in the game:
“It just comes with the playcalling, with Kyle having the trust in our ability. We just wanted to run the ball first. That’s what we do, being a physical group. We just let everything else fall in place.”
On if the play for his touchdown catch was the plan:
“Not necessarily the No. 1 read, but I crossed the safety’s face into Jimmy’s vision and he threw a dart.”
On if Jauan Jennings could be a wide-back:
“I think so, even though I got on him about when he caught the ball going across the middle and he was running down the sideline, like he was ready to get tackled and get pushed out of bounds. I think he had a little extra in him and he could’ve scored. … I think he made the right decision, but once he got to the sideline, he ran out of gas a little bit.”
On seeing Kittle get more touches:
“It was great. Not even when he got the ball, but when you turn on the tape and watch how he blocks, he’s just a high-energy guy, real physical. That’s just something we take pride in and we feed off of it.”
On if this was best offensive flow of the season:
“I think so. Like Kyle mentioned in the locker room, we made a lot of mistakes on offense, but we was clicking and converting on third down, which is something we’ve been harping on for the past two weeks.”
On what those mistakes were:
“Just penalties in general, missed assignments on routes. Simple stuff.”
On how he felt the offensive line did:
“I think we ran the ball well. That means the offensive line played really well as well, so I think they played really well.”
CHARVARIUS WARD
On injuries:
“It’s bittersweet. E-man was making some great plays. It’s tragic it happened at the end of the game. I pray he’s doing good and not out too long.”
On defense hiccup:
“It’s the NFL. They get paid, too. They’re millionaires, too, so they’ll make plays every now and then. We only gave up, what, one touchdown the past three weeks? We can be better but teams eventually will make plays against us.”
On Moseley:
“He made a pick-six today. He did his thing. He came back home, caught a pick-six, put on for the team and made some plays. Unfortunately (the injury) happened.”
On end-zone pass break-up:
“Yeah, that play had me hyped, feeling good. I just hope they keep targeting me so I can start picking some of those balls off.
On defense:
“We kind of surprise the other team when we make plays. If we’re on our stuff, with good eyes and good techniques, it’ll be hard to score on us.”
GEORGE KITTLE
On Bank of America’s turf field:
“The thing that just confuses me, if you’re not going to mandate grass, then why aren’t all turf fields the exact same, so guys get used to playing on the same turf everywhere. Every field has a different turf. NBA guys don’t play on different wood. What are we doing? Hockey players don’t play on different ice all the time. … I just wish we were playing on a surface that was similar week in and week out, so your body wouldn’t be dealing with crappy turf.”
“Turf is turf. I’d much rather play on grass. That’s why I love Jed York. We have the nicest grass in the NFL. Week in and week out, our practice fields have the nicest grass and we have the nicest game field.”
On catch first play and an emphasis to get you going?
“Yes and no. Kyle gives us the first 20 plays the night before every game. It’s always fun when I get the ball early, especially like that where I get a 3-yard pass and get to go hit somebody.”
On Garoppolo:
“Jimmy was great. Got us in and out of the huddle, got us lined up right, lot of good change of direction for the play calls based on their defense. We were clean.”
On offensive balance:
“It feels like the new 49ers’ offense. It is different. We have a lot of new guys out there. Guys are getting comfortable playing ball. We have young players at important positions and they’re getting consistently better and getting used to the speed of the game. It’s slowing down for them. We just put a little more weight on their shoulders and they’re doing a good job.”
On his fumble:
“I’m upset about it, obviously. You never want to fumble the ball. It sucks. You’ll be the guy that’s pointed out on the tape all the time. Ball security is always an extra emphasis for our team. I hate to be on that tape and I’ll definitely be pointed out as a guy for our next opponent. It’s up to me to hold onto the football, which I plan on doing. Four career fumbles on 300-plus catches, so I’m not too worried about it, but I’ll continue to work on my ball security.”
On Coleman:
“When we signed him back, I was excited. I know how he is in the locker room and on the field. You can count on him every day. My favorite thing about TeCo is he’s been in this offense and is very good about pressing the block on the outside before cutting up field. It’s one of those things it takes guys a long time to learn — rookies, especially.”
“When you have the speed that Tevin has and the mindset to push blocks before you cut, it makes blocking so much easier for us blocking on the edges. It gets them to hop outside and he cuts off your block and it usually ends in a pancake.”
“I think I’m a really good run-blocking tight end. Tevin makes my job easier.”
“Great mindset. He brings that veteran presence to the running back room. Now you can show the younger guys this is how you’re supposed to run the ball in outside zone.”
FRED WARNER
On if an injury like Moseley’s changes the celebration:
“Yeah, absolutely. It’s just crazy, you hate to see it. Hopefully we get decent news on that tomorrow, but you hate it for him. That’s my brother, so that hurts. You just hate to see that.”
On if the turf made an impact:
“I don’t know. I mean, we keep circling around it, going back to 2020 when we were at Metlife and those injuries happening and obviously today. I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. I just show up and play.”
On Bosa’s injury and playing the second half without him:
“Yeah, I didn’t know that he had been hurt. Kind of found out on the sideline, saw that he had a wrap on it. So hopefully he’ll be good to go for next week. The McCaffrey touchdown, we’ve just got to find a way to get him down so we can get another set of four downs and keep them to three points.”
On stopping Carolina’s two-point attempt:
“I didn’t know … they were going for two, so we were going to have to stand up. Luckily, we had a great play call on that one, we got the defensive line moving and we made a play in the backfield. Anytime we get a stop down there, that’s going to be big for momentum.”
On cornerbacks making tackles:
“All of our corners, honestly. I think all of them, we purposely get corners who are great tacklers and willing. That’s something that you’re not going to be on the field unless you are. We have some of the best in the league — if not the best — at putting their nose in there and making those type of plays. That’s huge for our defense.”
On mentality of stepping up for guys in the wake of injuries:
“We wish that that obviously wasn’t the case — you don’t want to be familiar with dealing with big losses. But we understand the game that we play, violent game. As much as it’s easy to say, ‘Next man up,’ it’s not like we’re not thinking about those guys and missing them. But we’re going to find a way to get through and continue to play at a high level.”
On spending a week at the Greenbrier:
“Every year, I think that that’s one of the positives to being there, is being with the guys and spending time together out there practice. And obviously in our off time, being around each other. That should be a positive, for sure.”
TEVIN COLEMAN
On the touchdown catch:
“Jimmy actually didn’t throw it to me in practice when he was supposed to. So he was like, ‘In the game, we’re gonna get it. In the game, we’re gonna get it.’ So I was just ready for that play and I knew he was going to throw it.”
“And there was a DB on me, so he wasn’t supposed to throw it. But he definitely trusts me. If a linebacker come out on me, then yeah, but if a DB come out there on me, then he wasn’t supposed to throw it. But he trusts me, so that was good.”
On if he doubted Garoppolo would throw it:
“Oh no. I already knew I was getting that ball, for sure.”
On his timeline before joining the 49ers:
“It was good. I was with the Jets this summer and everything was good, but they released me. So I was just really surprised and happy to come back here, see the familiar faces and the vibe that was here, it was amazing. Everybody loves me coming back. It was just a great feel for me.”
On what he was doing after being released by the Jets:
“I was at home, spending time with my family and getting family time in. And then San Fran called me and it was no doubt, I was just like, ‘Yup, I’m going.'”
TALANOA HUFANGA
On the injury to Moseley:
“For me personally, just because E-Man is such a special human being to me. He’s been a leader to me as I came in as a rookie. He always had that juice to him, energy and infectious smile and that just flows throughout the locker room. To see E-Man go down, it almost felt like Trey Lance, too. Those are both of my guys. For me, I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Obviously, I don’t know the status on him as well but sending prayers to him because he is a man of great character, for sure.”
On the plaudits being given to the defense:
“We’ve just got to go week-by-week, one game at a time. When they praise us, we’ve got to stay humble, we’ve got to continue to keep the humility because it’ll build strength within the locker room. As long as we continue to do our jobs each and every day. We’re just trying to create a legacy that we’re destined for greatness. We have a confidence in that but you have to continue to work on that each and every day.”
On how the defense played after Bosa was out:
“Well, the touchdown was on me. I’ve just got to make an open field tackle and I missed the tackle. I think I had four missed tackles today. Defense could have been way better with me doing my job. Everybody was in place, I’ve just got to make my plays. Regardless of the guy that goes down, like Bosa, we have guys who can step up at every spot. As you look at each spot on the depth chart, there’s always someone that’s ready to go in. That’s what we pride ourselves on, is building a depth chart that’s not just one-deep, but two-deep, three. We’ve just got to continue to play our game. In terms of my game, I just got to help do a better job for the guys to make the plays. I definitely take all that blame on those runs.”
ROBBIE GOULD
On getting hit on kickoff returns:
“I’ll be alright. It happens. I try to put him toward the sideline or cut him back. For some reasons, returns want to run me over. I guess I’m an easy target. They want something for Instagram I guess. But they didn’t score a touchdown.”
A bruise?
“We’ll see. I’ve got an MRI tomorrow. It’s pretty swollen right now.”