49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Sideswipes Cowboys While Discussing Preparation for Packers

The San Francisco coach took a savage shot at the Cowboys.

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan just knew. Call it a coach’s gut instinct about his hated NFC rival.

Shanahan had a feeling the Dallas Cowboys would lose to the Green Bay Packers and started preparing to face the Packers as early as the second quarter of Sunday’s wild-card matchup.

“We were already in here. We were doing it that day,” Shanahan said when asked about his team’s preparation timeline for the NFC divisional round matchup. “... Started really focusing on [the Packers] halfway through the second quarter.”

#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said they already started preparing for the #Packers during the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. Dallas. ????pic.twitter.com/MPNX7ko0J8

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 16, 2024

In perhaps the most shocking upset of the 2023 playoffs so far, the Packers steamrolled the Cowboys 48—32 on Sunday, starting the game off with 27 unanswered points. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys managed to get a touchdown on the board at the end of the first half, which caused Shanahan to double his preparations just in case.

“The Cowboys scored at the end of the second quarter, so I kind of did both at halftime,” Shanahan said. “And then third quarter, I was set on one team.”

Green Bay came out of the half with an in-sync offense, scoring touchdowns on its first three drives. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Packers were up 48—16, giving Shanahan and the 49ers a near-certain idea of who their divisional round opponent would be. 

With San Francisco primed to make a deep postseason run, Shanahan just couldn't resist sliding in a trolling quip about a now-eliminated conference rival.

The 49ers will play the Packers at 8:15 p.m. ET Saturday on Fox.