Fresh off a Wild Card road upset of the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and company already knew the road would get more challenging.
Just not a lot more challenging, but the NFL did the 49ers no favors, as insider David Lombardi of The Athletic sees it. San Francisco’s schedule for the Divisional Round against the No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks is quite unfavorable.
“The 49ers will play the Seahawks on Saturday — meaning they have to travel on a short week against a rested team,” Lombardi wrote via X.com on Sunday night. “Absolute. Hardest. Path. Possible.”
San Francisco won 17-13 in Seattle during the regular season in September, but the 49ers fell the last time around in Week 18 at home, 13-3 against the Seahawks. The Niners offense came back around on Sunday with a 23-19 win over the Eagles, and Shanahan expressed his confidence in his team and sent a message to the NFL on scheduling.
“I know we can play better than (Week 18),” Shanahan told reporters afterward. “Glad we’ve got another shot. … If the NFL is cool and understanding, they’ll make it Sunday.”
Instead, they will play banged up on a short week. The 49ers lost tight end George Kittle to an Achilles injury on Sunday.
Kyle Shanahan Praises 2 New Linebackers in Win Over Eagles
San Francisco has been most dependent on new players stepping up amid injuries of late, and that included linebackers Eric Kendricks and Garrett Wallow, both late-season additions to the squad. Wallow led the team in tackles with 11, and Kendricks had 10, including two for loss, on Sunday.
” I was proud of the guys, how hard they battled,” Shanahan said. “Having two linebackers who weren’t on our team a month ago, and those guys playing that whole game and playing at a high level, it was so impressive.”
“Having two turnovers and them having none, and finding a way to win that I thought was huge,” Shanahan added.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw two interceptions, but the 49ers ultimately didn’t let losing the turnover battle cost them the game. Purdy led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey.
Kyle Shanahan’s Message to Team After George Kittle Injury
While losing Kittle was a blow for the 49ers, Shanahan didn’t say anything extra inspiring for his team at halftime, as they were down 13-10.
“It’s football, guys understand that,” Shanahan explained. “So you don’t have to address that. Guys know right away. But at halftime we, came in and said this is exactly the way we wanted this game to be.”
Kittle only had a 6-yard catch before his exit. Tight end Jake Tonges stepped up with a 14-yard reception, but Purdy didn’t go to tight ends too much the rest of the game.
“Once I heard on the headset, just going over there, just felt horrible for Kittle,” Shanahan said. “Jake and Luke (Farrell) had stepped it up for us all year. So I think the guys had a lot of confidence in those guys that they could still do it. But I think everyone’s just hurting for Kittle.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post 49ers Dealt Bad News After Win Over Eagles appeared first on Heavy Sports.