The 49ers held on to upset the Cowboys 23-17 on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium and earn a spot in the NFC divisional round.
San Francisco controlled much of the game’s first half, holding the NFL’s No. 1 offense scoreless for the game’s first 24 minutes while building a 13-0 lead.
Deebo Samuel’s third-quarter rushing touchdown stretched the lead to 23-7, but two quick Dallas scores sandwiched around a Jimmy Garoppolo interception brought the Cowboys within six points with eight minutes remaining.
Both teams made late-game mistakes, with the final one coming on the game’s last play as Dak Prescott scrambled and time expired before Dallas was able to snap the ball again.
Here’s what the Niners said of the win, which set them up for a game next weekend in Green Bay:
KYLE SHANAHAN
On the win:
I’m still trying to figure out where I’m at because it was pretty emotional out there. Lots of opportunities, I thought, we had to win the game. I feel like we did a number of times but those guys just kept fighting. We had a couple of mistakes there at the end, shouldn’t have let it get there. Just the guys to come out, finish that game, especially in that atmosphere, hell of a game by the guys.
On defense holding together:
I think it says so much about our guys all year. I mean, to lose two of our best players, or captains, you now, be able to protect a lead like that, too. I mean, when you’re missing your middle linebacker and you’re missing your best pass rusher, just the guys stepping up in their place.
On Garoppolo struggling in the second half:
Just a long game and I thought he played real good in the first half and I thought he made some real good plays in the second half, too. But obviously that pick he’d like to have back and then one missed third down he missed the throw on.
On the final play:
I thought it was over ’cause I saw it live. I was very confident it was done, I was just nervous that sometimes you’re real confident, you think you see it right, sometimes it changes so you’re never fully sure until they let you know.
On what his team’s shown him recently:
That’s the cool thing about football, it’s never a seven-game series. There’s lots of ways to win one game and that’s why people enjoy watching football… I like to think that we have a team built to do it. You do that through experience and I think we’ve won a number of different ways this year. …
I’m just proud of the guys that even when you did hit some bad adversity that they found a way to still win. Gives us a chance to keep trying to get better.
On the late false start:
We just shifted to an unbalanced. It was on a silent count and quarterback sneak all the way but Jimmy got really excited because of the look and then didn’t let Trent get set.
On using the old playoff games as motivation:
I remember Thursday night, I was at my house and wasn’t sleeping so I just went to watch the ’94 game… I ended up showing some of the guys Friday and it’s just kind of cool because you think back to those days and you know, those are my heroes.
On Trent Williams returning:
I was so happy for Trent. I don’t think people realize how much Trent enjoys playing football. He’s winning — anytime you got guys that talented, which he is as talented as anyone on the planet — you know, they can show up and do better than most people.
On Deebo Samuel’s touchdown run:
It was unbelievable. It’s not at where I thought the play would go, where it’s designed to go. But when you have a guy out there who’s just running, is very tough and has the skillset to see the field very well — usually he goes outside. He stopped, reversed the field and if he gets a lane, he’s running through everyone’s arm tackles. Deebo’s been a stud all year, as everyone knows. Right before he went out there, he mouthed something to me, which I kind of guessed, was: ‘Give me the ball.’ When I look at him talking that way, it’s extremely motivating and it’s easier to call plays. … It’s never meant to go back the opposite part of the field. They overplayed it and Deebo made them pay.”
On facing the Packers:
I’m sure I’ll be thinking about a lot here on the plane. They’ve had a hell of a year. I’m glad we have an opportunity to go up against them again. But they’ve been unbelievable. We’ll rest up here. We’ll enjoy this plane ride and get back to work right when we land.
DEEBO SAMUEL
On if he really told Shanahan to give him the ball (before his touchdown run):
That’s absolutely right. When K’Waun got the interception, I looked at Kyle and said, ‘Hey, just give me the ball. I’ve got you.’ So I just went out there and the next play I scored. … It was just a little sweep, in front of Jimmy. They overplayed it, I played it kind of slow, I saw the cut back and just hit it. They were overplaying it a lot today. I was being patient, seeing the hole and hitting it as fast as I can.”
On Cowboys planning to treat him as a running back:
No, it didn’t get back to me. They were trying their hardest to just bring everything possible. You know, I’m pretty physical guy so I mean, it wasn’t really bugging me. It’s just next play.
On the last two minutes:
Oh yeah, it was long. I was just sitting there like ‘Please, come on defense, get a stop.’
K’WAUN WILLIAMS
On his interception:
We were just starting to get a feel for the game at that point, so I was just able to lock in right there and just make a play for our defense and our team.
On the DBs getting better:
We’ve just been playing sound. Our guys just been locked in every week
JIMMIE WARD
On the last play:
I didn’t know it was over. I play until the last snap. I was glad the referee ran into the center, so I was happy about that.
On missing his interception:
Terrible. I want interceptions and I missed that one, I donn’t know what I was doing. Next time I’m just (gonna) jump up and get it.
On injuries to Bosa/Warner:
Guys just stepped up. You know the saying, next man up. I’m glad. Hopefully everything’s good with Fred and Bosa, they can come back, join the team with us.
For him to be a first-time DC, he’s doing a great job. We’re the No. 3 ranked defense. I’m pretty sure it was a lot of noise talking, especially the defensive backs have been (having) a lot of problems, I’ve been hearing in the media, but at the same time look at what we were doing to a No. 1 ranked offense.
D.J. JONES
On stepping up from Bosa/Warner injuries:
I don’t think anybody blinked an eye. It was just next man up. There was no change in mindset, just mainly fight for your brother.
On Arik Armstead:
He is the most important piece on this team to me. I think Arik Armstead is a force. He can play outside, inside. I think he’s a phenomenal three-technique, he plays two. He’s a Swiss army knife. I love it when he’s inside with me.
On facing the Packers again:
I’m ready. Not right now, but we will be. We definitely will be. They’re a great team, obviously, but we’re ready for the challenge.
On Deebo Samuel:
He’s crazy to watch, to be honest. Every time he gets the ball in his hand, he could go to the end zone.
On whether he was shaken up after colliding with Bosa:
I’m fine, I’ll be fine. God got me.
ALEX MACK
On drawing two holding penalties against the defensive line:
They were holding, so the refs saw it and threw a good flag. You know, you try to get to the second level and engage with linebackers and the d-line is trying to stop you and just try to get off the ball, get there at speed.
JIMMY GAROPPOLO
On the finish:
It was just an emotional game, the highs and lows of it, everything. Never felt like it was getting away from us, I always felt like we were in control of the game, but just made for some good TV, I guess.
On Samuel’s touchdown.
I had a pretty good view of it. He hit another gear and he always does, but it always shocks me when I see it, shocks defenses when they see it for the first time. He just played his ass off today.
On his bad throws:
The interception just got away from me, shot it high. And then the one to BA, just another tough one. Those are the ones I got to hit. Those are the easy layup ones.
On mentality:
I think whenever you go battle at the end, the real team shows. You know, you look guys in the eyes and see who’s in that moment and ready for it. It’s just gonna do us well down the road. It’s not going to be easy going into Lambeau. We know it’s going to be a tough challenge for us but we’re ready for it.
ARIK ARMSTEAD
On switching positions:
It’s just football. I feel like I can play any position on the D line and, you know, wherever they put me and try to be dominant. So it’s just my mindset.
On winning roller-coaster games:
We can win ugly, we can win good ways. We’re battle-tested, been through a lot and, you know, we’re not really fazed by too much. We just keep playing football.
On D-linemen stepping up with Bosa hurt:
We have a deep unit and I don’t see it as ones and twos. When I’m out there with any of them, I feel comfortable. I feel that we can get it done and I love playing with this group.
On rebounding from special teams issues:
You just do it. If stuff happens, it’s football. Stuff happens. You go out there annd keep fighting, keep playing.
GEORGE KITTLE
On the finish:
Just a little bit of a roller coaster. That was wild. A lot of ups annd downs, a lot of unknowns. I think the Niners make for great TV.
On his called-off fumble:
I knew it was incomplete and I was trying to do something with it. It’s terrible ball security by me and it’s something that I gotta do better with because I’ll be a target next week.
When I was a rookie I think John and Kyle did a fantastic job of like our whole OTAs, they put usinn all these like little rookie meetings, but we got to go to the Niners museum, we got to watch a bunch of tape on old Niners players, because they were trying to rebuild the Niners how it was, how it used to be and use that for how we want to build our foundation, how we want to build our team. It just makes you really respect, it makes you want to play at a high level.
On the feeling in the locker room:
Anytime you win a playoff game, you’re pretty jubilant, you’re pretty excited. We know we have things that we need to get better at and we need to execute better, but winning is winning when you’re in the playoffs and we have an opportunity next week to go out and win again.
On defense after losing Bosa and Warner:
Our guys stepped up, they kept playing, they kept hitting and they held a very explosive offense to 17 points.
TRENT WILLIAMS
On first playoff win:
Definitely waited too long to get my first playoff win but, you know, it’s all perfect timing.
On the final Cowboys drive:
I wasn’t too stressed. I knew that was a long way to go with no timeouts and under a minute.
On the defense’s performance:
I don’t think we’d be where we are today if we just had an above-average defense. I think our defense has to be great for us to be good.
On playoff win vs. individual honors:
It feels better than any accolade anybody can give me.
Source: www.mercurynews.com