49ers ’embracing’ loss to Seahawks, using it as motivation for NFL playoff push
49ers ’embracing’ loss to Seahawks, using it as motivation for NFL playoff push originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — After their 13-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers will have a more difficult road through the playoffs, but that’s just fine for coach Kyle Shanahan.
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“We are ready for it,” Shanahan said after the game. “It would have been nice to have both home games and get a bye, but it is what it is. And this team has been through a lot this year and now we have to do it the hard way. And we will embrace the s–t out of doing it the hard way and look forward to it.”
The team’s path will be finalized after the conclusion of Sunday’s games, potentially heading east to face the Philadelphia Eagles who currently sit in the No. 3 position. No longer in the picture is the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye that a win on Saturday night would have offered.
It would have been a welcome break for the roster that has played three games over the course of 13 days, but no one in the locker room was making any excuses. Running back Christian McCaffrey, who was held to eight carries for 23 yards was disappointed after the game, but still optimistic.
“This whole season has been difficult for us and we’ve continued to beat the odds and show people that we are a real football team,” McCaffrey said. “We didn’t show up today. We know that, but I love the guys in the locker room and how we’ve responded all year.
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McCaffrey, who was unable to make a play on a Brock Purdy pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage, just couldn’t control the ball, which ended up being intercepted by Seattle’s Drake Thomas on the 3-yard line.
“Our team has been through so much adversity, guys going down, next guy up,” Purdy said. “People have counted us out and that’s fine and they can say what they want, but for us to go on the road and find a way to win, we’ve done it before and that’s going to be our goal. So, we got to take it one day at a time, get better from this film, heal up and go find a way.”
The ball just didn’t bounce the 49ers way on Saturday night. Purdy and Co. were unable to move downfield, only amassing 173 total yards on offense and only nine first downs. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk believes that heading out on the road in the postseason is par for the course for the team’s 2025 season.
“Nothing has gone right for this team this year so why would we have it any other way right now,” Juszczyk said. “Let’s do it this hard way. That’s kind of been the theme of the season so let’s just lean into that.”
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Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who was targeted once but did not register a reception, was hopeful after the game, believing that maybe losing to the Seahawks was the wake-up call the team needed to push them into the postseason.
“Sometimes the adversity is good,” Bourne said. “It’s our mindset and how we take it. It can either help us or hurt us.”
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