What the 49ers are saying after crushing Seahawks in Wild Card round
They needed a half to get going, but once the San Francisco 49ers came back, they showed why some consider them Super Bowl favorites.
The No. 2 49ers rallied in the second half to beat the No. 7 Seahawks 41-23 on Saturday at Levi’s Stadium.
After trailing by one in the first half, San Francisco scored the first 25 points of the second half, quickly turning a nervy afternoon into a blowout for the Loyalists who came ready for rain … that never came.
In his first playoff game, rookie quarterback Brock Purdy completed 18-for-30 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns, plus added a rushing touchdown to give him four on the day. His best connection came with Deebo Samuel, who took a short pass and outran everyone for a 74-yard touchdown on fourth down.
Samuel finished with 133 receiving yards on six catches, plus 32 rushing yards. Fellow offensive superstar Christian McCaffrey had 119 yards rushing on 15 carries, plus two catches for 17 yards and a touchdown.
Here’s what the 49ers had to say after the win:
Kyle Shanahan
If he’s getting used to Purdy rolling and wriggling:
No. He was wonderful to some. The latter was very close. It was unbelievable, the shot he made in the corner for BA. He just missed him. He has a feeling for her. It definitely makes me nervous about some of them, but he did a hell of a job walking away. He knows his body, he knows how close he is to those guys. He tries to never give up a play and he’s been very smart with the ball so far, so I appreciate him doing that.
If he thought Samuel was going to do something big after the incident:
I was worried that he was hurt in it. I lost my mind a bit about this. But yeah, I was really worried about him getting hurt about it. I didn’t like the way it looked, I thought it looked too bad and the point of the game. So I think that pissed off a lot of people, I think that pissed off our team and you could feel our team react to that afterwards. I wish we could always be like that from the first game, but sometimes when certain things motivate guys. I think it’s nice to see us come together. I know Deebo was worried and it was good that we came back and responded.
Protection:
They got some things early. Big game, obviously – DK is as good as anyone and Geno throws a heck of a ball. And Mooney doesn’t shy away from anything, he went out there and competed the entire match, just like last time. DK will get some, I thought we did too. But I think the key in the game was getting those turnovers in the second half. If we don’t go out and get those turnovers and turn it over on offense at all. I think it’s a completely different game and after we came out and got those turnovers, I think we settled down and came back and played some pretty good football.
Thought Abram should have been kicked out for playing on Deebo?
That’s what I thought I saw, and then he got hurt, so he let me go out there. So, I mean, I’ll see, we always see it when you see the tape. Everyone is emotional there, but that’s how it seemed to us.
Talk to the officials about it?
Yes.
Can you share what they said?
Not what I said [laughs]. But who knows, at that time I was beyond pale. We’ll see, you always have to see it again, but it bothered us a bit.
San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) leaps into the end zone after scoring a 74-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of their NFC playoff game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, January 14. 2023. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 41-23. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Deebo Samuel
In Purdy’s fights:
When you think he’s fired and his little slip to get out of things. It wears us out a bit because we have to run and try to get open, but it worked. So as long as Brock is doing his thing, we’ll ride with him.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) has a pass blocked by Seattle Seahawks’ Bruce Irvin (51) in the second quarter of their NFC playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. California (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Brock Purdy
On the first pass:
Honestly, the ball was a bit wet and it was raining at that point and the ball got away from me. It wasn’t anything game-wise or anything. It’s just that the balls were slippery. I was trying to rip it off Deebo and just freaked out that I could take it home.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) is pressured by San Francisco 49ers’ Charles Omenihu (94) in the fourth quarter of their NFC playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Charles Omenihu
On his mindset before the big game:
When the team gets into the red zone, your thought process and mentality is to hold them to a field goal. Just play the call and run, it’s that simple. And when we do, good things happen for us.
Fred Warner
On the defensive mindset after giving up the big game:
In my short time in the league so far, I’ve seen a lot of things happen in a game – being up, being down a lot. I know one game doesn’t define a game. Especially when it happens so early, there’s a lot more football to be played. It’s more about keeping faith in the guys and knowing that it’s a next-up mentality. Before the game, we talked about playing 60 minutes – not 15 or 30, you have to play the full 60 minutes in the playoffs. It’s playoff football, it won’t be easy.
San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa (97) recovers a fumble from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) in the third quarter of their NFC playoff game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday 14 January. 2023. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 41-23. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Nick Bosa
On the energy level of the first half:
It was good. Myself, I was a little nervous about how the tide was going. But I have great faith in this team and a whole half of football is a lot of football. We did exactly what we had to do.
About what he has seen from Omenihu:
Much improvement. He renewed his preparation. He was more of an inside big guy when he came in, and in the time he’s been here, he’s bought into the scheme. He’s a really good player for us and he can hustle.
If he talks to Omenih:
For sure, yes. We are very different hustlers but there are always similarities we can talk about and I always try to help him.
On Omenih’s sack and his clumsy recovery:
Yes, I missed you for a while [Smith] has grown up. And Charles, with his long arms, came in and knocked him down. It all happened in slow motion for me, so I was happy to get the ball.
In what type of circulation of the torque converter was:
Big. We scored right before that, so the offense helped turn it over. I think they’re doing dirty little things to our offensive guys. I’m not going to piss off the guys on offense, especially Deebo, because they’re going to make you pay.
In that game:
It’s playoff football. It’s our rival, so I wouldn’t expect anything less. But yeah, don’t hit the bear.
In the first part:
They came up with a really good game plan. And three times to play a team, it’s true. It’s tough. They had some different looks that threw us out in the run game, and No. 9 was really patient, a little more patient than we’re used to. So we had to adjust and really attack the run game and knock back so he couldn’t find those lands and get those extra yards.
For Purdy:
I feel like he always has good juice. For a rookie to come in and have that confidence is something that will help us go a long way.
More on Purdy:
I’m so glad he had some tough moments there just to get those nerves out. But he’s a really good quarterback.
If he thought Purdy was nervous:
It is difficult to say. It’s playoff football, you make mistakes at every position. So for him to stick with it and not let any of those mistakes affect him says a lot about him.
San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey (23) runs for a yard against the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter of their NFC playoff game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Christian McCaffrey
For Purdy:
He did not hesitate… he is no stranger to adversity and he responds very well. This is a mature footballer.
Mike McGlinchey
About the weather:
How about that? Four weeks in a row, they have called for rain on our game day and we have sun for two quarters today. This was very good. This is wonderful. I thought it could have been like a 10-6 game instead of the 40 we put up. … I think we noticed when we woke up this morning and it’s pouring outside and we’re like, oh OK, this is the day it’s going to be, and then all of a sudden you’re starting to warm up, and there’s no rain. You say, okay, is this going to happen? And then towards the end of the first quarter, the sun starts to come out. You’re like, well, the football gods are smiling down on us. They want the best product in the field. That’s how it worked. We were ready for anything. We have been practicing. We do not have an indoor environment (field). It’s been raining all week – last month actually – so we’ve been doing a lot of practice playing in the rain, so we were ready for it, but definitely grateful to be able to play football instead of worrying about it.
Jimmy Ward
Asleep:
Charles beat one on one. That’s what this game is about. … We got the championship defense. Many boys are hungry. A lot of guys also want to put on a show when they go out there. This is what we have. We have a lot of depth. This team will be very different next year, but we have a special group this year.
About the weather:
Yeah, I didn’t notice. It rained last month. … Bring on the rain, man. It’s working for us.
Dre Greenlaw
Asleep:
For us to be able to get that drive, it was just a game changer. I think we were up (one possession), they scored that goal, got momentum. It was just a great game, man. A great game at the right time.
About the weather:
I didn’t really notice. It would rain and stop, but I honestly didn’t even think about it. I just played. … I slipped on the goal line once. But I was still able to do the show.
This post will be updated.
