What the 49ers are saying after NFC Championship Game loss to Eagles
"We were excited for today and we really wanted an opportunity to play that team and I thought they played great. They did good things, but you know, we wish we had a little bit better opportunity than we did."
The 49ers’ season ended Sunday with an ugly 31-7 loss to the Eagles in an NFC Championship Game that featured injuries to San Francisco’s two active quarterbacks.
First, Brock Purdy suffered an elbow injury when he was sacked by Haason Reddick on the 49ers’ first possession. Then Josh Johnson, Purdy’s backup and the 49ers’ fourth quarterback used this season, smacked his head on the Lincoln Financial Field turf in the third quarter and was ruled out with a concussion.
Purdy returned to the game but it was obvious he could not throw very far, and the 49ers were forced to run the ball almost exclusively, further harming their comeback effort, which never came close.
Here’s what Kyle Shanahan and his team had to say after the loss.
Kyle Shanahan
On what to do after QB injury:
We have an emergency package, but usually hoping you can end the game with him and stuff, so we put our quarterback in there just so we could at least run our normal run game.
On his team’s response to Purdy being hurt:
I don’t think we were numb. I mean, guys were up for the challenge, you know. I thought our defense was playing real well and we felt Josh was going to go in there and execute our plan and give us a chance.
On the mood in the locker room:
Guys are pretty down in there. We were excited for today and we really wanted an opportunity to play that team and I thought they played great. They did good things, but you know, we wish we had a little bit better opportunity than we did.
On the game:
It was a tough one, some tough circumstances and we should have done a few things better but really proud of the group in there.
On not challenging the Smith catch:
I was going to throw it anyway, just hoping, but it looked like he caught it (on the initial replay he saw).
On Purdy post-injury:
He didn’t lobby much because he went and kept throwing and realized he couldn’t.
On the defense:
I think the penalties really got to our defense. I think a number of them were self-inflicted that we got to do better on. A few of them, you know, I’ll see how it is when I see the tape. … They were out there pretty much alone in the second half.
On having Kroft block Reddick on the play that injured Purdy:
It’s a tough block, but all play actions are tight ends vs. edge rushers. They had a number of those on us today too.
On if he thought Mason was blocked into Kern:
That’s what I thought but you know, I’m not standing right in front of it like (the official) is, so he should have a better view.
Christian McCaffrey
On if he was set to play QB:
Yeah, we had some plays up that were ready to go.
On the message:
Just be ready to go and it was a specific package of plays.
On Purdy injury:
You never want to see any of your teammates get hurt, let alone obviously the quarterback position, it’s tough. And you’re never out of the fight, though, and we believed it, and it just didn’t turn out our way. We got beaten and wish we had another shot at it, as everybody would.
On the game:
It’s disappointing and we wanted to be playing and have a shot to play in the Super Bowl but at the same time, I’m unbelievably grateful for the way this team took me in in the middle of the year. It feels like a family in there from the coaches and the ownership to the players, I’m grateful for everyone in that locker room.
On what he might have been thinking if he got in at QB:
I don’t know if I would have had any thoughts, just kind of going.
On his TD sparking belief:
You’re never out of the fight in this league, you know. The ball can bounce your way at any point. You’ve seen a pick-six, a special-teams touchdown, there’s a bunch of things that can happen. So, you know, nobody believed we couldn’t win.
George Kittle
On the injuries:
Losing your starting quarterback who’s a third-string rookie to your fourth-string quarterback who was doing everything he could, gets hurt right away in the third quarter, you can only run the ball, it’s tough.
On Purdy returning:
He was just jacked to be able to be out there. He knew he was like ‘Hey, I’m not going to be able to throw the ball at all, so might as well have fun.’
On the adjustments when Purdy came back in:
As soon as Purdy came back in, they put six guys on the line of scrimmage, they loaded the box and saw we can’t do any play actions or anything off it, so we just kind of had to run into it.
On his teammates:
I’m just pumped that my team didn’t quit. They’re fighting and whether it was an actual fight or whether they’re doing everything we can to be violent, I love it.
On belief in Johnson:
Obviously he’s a capable quarterback. He’s been in the league for a long time, he’s been on this team before in 2020. He knows our offense. I believe in all my teammates, if they get an opportunity, they’re going to take advantage of it. I mean, look at Brock Purdy, what he did for the last eight weeks. I don’t doubt in Josh.
On the scuffle:
I was kind of late to the party. Heard my teammates obviously pissed off, fighting through the whistle, they didn’t like it. I’m all for doing what you have to do but I don’t want my guys fined or getting kicked out of the game.
On his goals:
My goal in life is to win the Super Bowl. I’m going to do everything I can to (do that). Coach Shanahan’s goal is to win a Super Bowl. We’ve been close multiple times, and of course, we haven’t been able to do that. So I still have confidence in this team. We have players all over the field, talent all over the field.
Brock Purdy
On his injury:
My arm just felt like it stretched out, just felt like a lot of just shocks all over from my elbow down to my wrist, front and back. Just pain, really, all over.
On if it’s a long-term injury:
I have no idea. We’ll get an MRI tomorrow. It is a little swollen in the forearm area near the elbow. Still in pain, obviously.
On limitations:
I couldn’t throw anything probably over 10 yards, five yards, so that’s why we just had some screens, that was really our only option when I went back in.
On his response:
I’m more sad for those guys than anything because they deserve to go and win the whole thing. So when that happened, I’m just more frustrated with that.
On if he thought it was serious:
I went to the sideline while they were reviewing (what was ruled a fumble). I asked for a ball, because I knew something wasn’t right. I asked to see if I could throw, and even those couple of throws, I was, ‘Man, this is not right.’ ”
On sideline conversation with Shanahan:
I told him right there that if we run a play, I can’t throw it deep. Just for this play, at least, it’s hurting really bad.
On his frustration:
I was thinking how hard it is, how it takes every little thing to align and go all the way. I thought back to earlier this season, what happened with all the injuries, we got hot and we’re winning games, and how tough those are to win, how tough last week’s was. You come into an environment like this locked in ready to roll, then the injury happens and the game totally shifts to a different direction.
On perspective:
As a rookie, you can say you’ve got your whole career, but man, these guys have told me it’s rare to get here. It’s hard, it’s not easy. So it’s more for those guys — I feel for those guys more than anything.
On the play where he was injured:
I was literally ripping it to BA (Brandon Aiyuk). He was coming open and that was going to be a big play and then yeah, (Reddick) just came from my blindside at the time and the ball came out.
Nick Bosa
On this team in the injuries:
This is the best group I’ve been around. When stuff like that happens and it’s pretty much out of your control, it doesn’t make it any easier by any means but you kind of just are proud that we fought.
On his future with an extension pending:
It’s hard to discuss that … One thing about the NFL is you never have the same group. Might have the key guys. But this is sad, that this exact group doesn’t get another shot.
On getting cleated on the sideline:
That was kind of a sign of a rough day when you get hurt on the sideline. I got a cleat an inch or two into my leg. So that hurt. I was fighting through, though. I don’t think it affected me too much.
On Brock Purdy:
I’ve always had a ton of respect for him. After the Super Bowl, I felt the same way about Staley and a lot of guys on the o-line who you kind of have an idea that they’re not going to get another shot at it.
On Johnson:
I had confidence in him to make the right reads and all that stuff. I think we were all still pretty confident. We were confident as a defense. I mean, the guy hasn’t played in probably multiple years, especially in the NFC Championship against one of the best pass rushers in the league.
Fred Warner
On the loss:
When you win for so long, you forget how losing feels … Self-inflicted wounds on defense all the way through. However you want to draw it up or talk about it, it just wasn’t our day.
On Purdy:
He doesn’t have anything to be sad about. He’s the reason we even got to this game. When Jimmy went down against the Dolphins, we didn’t know what our season was going to be, he came in and did a heck of a job.
On response after Purdy was injured:
We had complete confidence that we could win the game however we needed to, regardless of what everybody else probably was watching.
On the defense:
We finished as the best. Top defense in the league. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do enough today to give our team a chance to win. So it sucks but this was a special group.
On DC DeMeco Ryans:
I hadn’t thought about it up to this point because obviously we think we’re gonna win it all. But you know, seeing him was emotional. It was the first time it kind of hit me. This was the last one with him and we came into this team together. I owe everything to him. He’s the reason I’m the player I am today. He’s fully deserving to go on and be a head coach.
Mike McGlinchey
The offensive and defensive lines for both teams in this game are some of the best units in the league. And it was a hell of a fight. You know, we’ve gone up against those guys a number of times now, and they pack a punch every time. They’re great players. They’ve had a hell of a year. One of the best units in football. Hats off to them.
On being down to no QB:
I’ve been a part of [games] with no linemen, you know, that sort of thing, but you lose a quarterback, it’s pretty tough to play football. And that’s what happened today.
On second-half playcalling:
I don’t know if it was anything crazy. I know at certain points that looked like we were trying something but we’ve done those things all season long. It’s not like we were throwing the kitchen sink at anybody. Those things are already on film. Unfortunately, it comes at a time where there seems to be a little bit of desperation, so it looks like you’re trying something different, but I don’t think anybody panicked ever done anything wrong.
On whether he wants to return to SF:
Yes. Yeah. I love playing here. Some of my best friends are in this locker room. I have a great relationship with staff, coaches front office, our ownership group’s probably the best in football. Hopefully the cards you know fall in my way but it is a business, we got a lot of players in this in this locker room. A lot of good ones. And a lot of people that, you know, deserve to get paid. We’ll see how it goes. But yeah, yeah, hope for the best.
On what he’ll remember from this team:
I think the character and the story I mean, to go through three quarterbacks and run through the NFL with 12 straight wins and get to the NFC title game without a hitch that’s pretty impressive. It was really cool to be a part of. And the guys… that’s why football is the best sport in the world. It’s because you get to build long life-lasting relationships with some of the coolest people you’ll come across and you have no business being across them other than being in a locker room. And it just it sucks that it goes that way. No, it sucks that this league has such turnover that you can’t, you know, keep the whole squad together. I hope we can. We’ll see.
Jimmie Ward
On teammates saying goodbye:
There’s a little bit of that energy. You know you know the team change each year.
On the game:
We just got beat man. Couldn’t do nothing. They went out and executed and they outplayed us.
On no QB:
No, I haven’t been in that situation. It’s a tough situation. But the offense fought. We fought and we did the best that we could possibly do. And we ended up coming up short.
On the vibe at halftime:
Just keep fighting. We all get paid to do this. So nobody quit. They went out there and we made them earn it. And that’s what they did, they earned that win and they’re going to the Super Bowl.
Jauan Jennings
On having QB injuries:
This is the NFL. It’s not high school football. [Playing one-dimensional] that’s something hard to do. We came up short this time, but this one we’re gonna use it as fuel for next year.
Talanoa Hufanga
On the QB injuries:
We’re dealt our cards, and at the end of day, we got to play what we got. If that was what was gonna happen, and that’s what happened, and that’s how we have to play. They could easily have had a quarterback that went down or running back that went out, and they could have been in the same scenario so at the end of the day, the better team won.