What the 49ers said after beating the Titans
The 49ers won their fourth consecutive game on Sunday, taking down the Tennessee Titans 37-24 and leading the whole way.
Brock Purdy controlled the game with, going 23-of-30 for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Christian McCaffrey added 73 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown, and Purdy contributed 44 yards on the ground, including a 26-yarder in the third quarter.
Jauan Jennings caught Purdy’s first two touchdowns, finishing with three receptions for 37 yards. Ricky Pearsall had six catches for 96 yards to lead the Niners, while George Kittle had eight for 88 and Purdy’s final scoring pass, a 1-yard toss. Pearsall battled through an ankle injury early and limped off late with a knee injury. Coach Kyle Shanahan suggested postgame that he may have had some irritation from a PCL injury suffered earlier this season.
Eddy Piñeiro made all three of his field goal attempts and all four extra points in his return from a hamstring injury.
Here’s what the 49ers had to say about the win:
Kyle Shanahan
On Pearsall’s game:
I don’t think Ricky was much different than this last month. It just worked out and the ball came that way and he made the plays when it did. Having to play through injuries and stuff in that game and he probably physically was struggling more in that game. So I think it says a lot about him to still be able to fight through it.
On Brandon Aiyuk being moved to the reserve/left team list:
We haven’t seen him in forever. That’s just a decision they make. It’s pretty simple for me. I haven’t seen him in a month, that’s the same with our team.
On Aiyuk’s future with the team:
BA is a guy we’ve had a relationship with for a while. We’ve always liked BA — everyone knows how good a player he is. It’s extremely unfortunate that it has gotten to this point but when this year is over, we’ll see where we’re at.
On Purdy’s game:
I thought Brock did a good job, made a lot of plays. Made a number of off-schedule plays, too, and protected the ball. That one turnover was unfortunate, but I thought he did a good job with the ball today, scrambling around.
On his coach’s challenge:
You need both feet in the end zone or it’s a minor touchback, which goes to the 20 instead of the 35, and we didn’t think he had both feet in the end zone when he did it.
On Jordan Elliott’s knee injury:
Jordan’s thing was totally random. It was just him getting loose in the locker room and just felt something in his knee. That was a big deal. It happened at like 11:20, so I was really proud of Kevin (Givens). He was told last night he’s not playing, just hanging out in the locker room and all of a sudden he’s got to put his pads on and get ready for an NFL game.
On Jauan Jennings’ resurgence:
It wasn’t til about two weeks ago that we felt JJ was getting back to over his injuries and got enough weeks in a row where he got all the stamina and everything back, and we feel like JJ has really been JJ these last couple weeks.
On Sunday being his birthday:
Probably go home and have a couple drinks. I usually hate my birthday — not in general, but on Sundays. Haven’t had a lot of success on it, so it was nice to win a game on my birthday. Actually now I can maybe enjoy with my family tonight.
Brock Purdy
On whether the team targeted Ricky Pearsall in the game plan:
I think it was just how the game sort of went. Obviously, we always want to try to get Ricky the ball. He’s explosive and does a great job in man-to-man matchups and creating separation.
On Jauan Jennings:
When it’s a moving route and there’s a guy on him, with his frame, he does a great job of just attacking and getting an edge and just a little space with his length. I feel like I’ve learned over the years that I can give him a shot.
On his late pump fake on the scramble:
I honestly thought that was dumb, the whole ball fake at the end. I was like ‘Bro, what did I just do?’
On the offense:
That’s our standard, to go out to move the ball, put up points, regardless of who we’re playing. We know that we’re talented and we have guys across the board, receiver, tight end, running back. So for us, that’s always going to be our standard.
On Ricky Pearsall getting more opportunities:
He just wants to do what’s best for the team. He’ll never be a guy that’s going to go out of his way and complain to get targets or the ball or whatever. He’s about the team, man, and he understands that his moments and opportunities will come as we play. So today was just one of those days, but we’ve been itching to get him involved.
George Kittle
On the team’s confidence:
I think we had great energy all week. You just kind of feel sometimes you gotta try to get the energy and the vibes out of the team. … Thomas Morestead, who’s been a part of a bunch of really good teams in New Orleans, he brought it up to me. He was like it’s just so sick, you feel the whole building just kind of has this confidence.
On the team’s culture:
If you don’t match that standard or at least try to match it, you kind of stick out like a sore thumb.
On Purdy’s fake pass on the scramble:
Absolutely just diabolical behavior by our QB1, but I love it. As long as he’s running out of bounds, I don’t care. Just don’t take a hit. I don’t need that in my life.
Christian McCaffrey
On his fake that led to Purdy’s long run:
I had a high school coach who said a great fake is worth two blocks and I try to take a lot of pride in my faking.
On Ricky Pearsall’s big game
If a defense wants to try to stop somebody, it’s difficult because there’s so many players that can make plays on any given game. So whatever the strategy is for the defense, guys are going to be open. You got guys like Ricky who are such elite playmakers that if you’re going to leave him open, eventually he’s going to have a game.
On his back stiffness that landed him in the injury report Saturday:
I have no idea. Just woke up, just tight.
On the team’s recent run of form:
Getting 10 wins is a big deal. Getting 11 would be even sweeter.