The San Francisco 49ers are 6-0 to open the season. The team traveled to the nation's capital and defeated the Washington Redskins 9-0, in Week 7. Here's what both locker rooms had to say following the matchup.
Niners Liners
Kyle Shanahan on how the weather affected the game:
"A lot, I mean for both teams. Just with the footing and everything, how rainy it was. It is not just going and catching, but it is tough to stand up and block people too. Just the way it was raining from last night made it a tough game for both sides."
Shanahan on trusting the defense with a lead:
"It definitely puts you at ease, especially knowing how that game was going to be. You know both teams are going to have to run in and both teams are going to eventually try for a big shot, so you know you have to commit to the run, just hold on when they take their shot and we're going to keep them from getting those big plays."
Shanahan on if QB Jimmy Garoppolo got more comfortable in the second half of the game:
"I think the whole game was pretty consistent for probably both teams in the passing game. I mean you're never too comfortable when you're playing in all the sleet and mud, so I'm glad we made some big throws when we had to. I know he wants to take that interception back, you know just not holding safety enough. But he also made some big plays scrambling with his legs and I think he kept one third down going. Besides the one third or fourth down shot we took, he did a good job protecting the ball."
Shanahan on DL Jullian Taylor's performance:
"I mean we've got a lot of confidence in Jullian. He never knows each week whether he's going to be up or not based off of usually other positions and how we're going to play that game, but it was a huge turning point getting that turnover. I think we had them in first or second along in that drive, and that's when we got one of our two penalties. First down gained some momentum, and then Jullian did get that fumble. I was going to give him a game ball but he didn't score, so I told him he had to score to get one. It wasn't easy to score, so he did a hell of a job and that was a big turning point in the game."
QB Jimmy Garoppolo on what was tough about playing in the weather conditions:
"I think everything. You have to take it into account, but you can't let it get in your head, I guess. Just a 'mind over matter' type of thing. I thought we did good out there though – only a couple penalties and took care of the ball fairly well. It was a good day."
Garoppolo on if playing in the rain took him back to his childhood:
"Absolutely, yeah. Growing up in Chicago, you play in the rain all the time, football and everything. But I haven't had one on the grass like this in a long time. It was fun out there. Just running, you're soaking wet and you know you're going to be soaking wet. It was a good time."
TE George Kittle on if he enjoyed playing in the rain:
"Yeah, are you kidding me? I had a blast out there, you couldn't tell?"
Kittle on his approach to catching the ball in the rain:
"When it comes down to it, it is pitch and catch and you have to be focused. You can't take your eyes off of it and worry about the guy that is going to hit you. You have to secure it and I think we did a good job of that."
Kittle on the offense converting third downs in the conditions:
"It means a lot, converting third downs is how you score. I was happy. It was a Robbie Gould win, (we) have to get at least one of those a year, but it says a lot about this team, the focus. The big plays by Kendrick Bourne and Richie James Jr. I'm sure I tackled Richie by accident, but you have to get a tackle once in a while."
WR Kendrick Bourne on stepping up when called upon:
"It was big, man, I was just doing my role. Marquise Goodwin kind of got banged up a little bit, so I got my little opportunity and took advantage of it. We're only as good as our third team or second team, so whoever comes in, we can't have any drop-off. If we want to be a championship team, we've got to keep that up. Whoever comes in, we expect them to do great. That's our standard here and we've kept that since I've been here. I think that's why I've always done so well when I come in, it's because I have just been able to be poised. Kudos to my whole team, great (offensive) line, great quarterback, especially Jimmy Garoppolo putting the ball on the money and being poised, stuff like that. Whether we start fast or slow, he's the same so it's good for us."
CB Richard Sherman on if the weather dictated how the team approached the game:
"We always feel like it is on us and we try to do our best to allow the offense to lean on us, and today was one of those days. You have to get a turnover, you've got to make a play. Thankfully Kwon Alexander got the ball out. Kwon is playing fantastic football and he deserves all the credit, and Jullian Taylor was able to pick it up and that was the big play we needed. Our offense was rolling. Give a lot of credit to Richie James Jr. and Kendrick Bourne, they played fantastic football. Obviously, Jimmy Garoppolo getting them the ball and George Kittle came through clutch like always. In a game like this, you need your big-time players to step up and he did that and he did that in crucial situations where we needed a first down. Obviously, Tevin Coleman, we rode his back the entire game and Matt Breida, before he went down. Everybody had their moments. I think when you have a game like this, it's everybody doing their job effectively. You've got the defensive line just playing effectively. It's a slow game, it's a slow grind. You've got Solomon Thomas, you've got Arik Armstead, you've got Dee Ford, you've got Nick Bosa, everybody out there – Ronald Blair III – everybody out there just doing their job every play very effectively. Jullian came in, Sheldon Day came in and played a very good game. That's what you appreciate and we were able to pull it out."
DL DeForest Buckner on the defense's success:
"Guys are just owning their jobs. They're not pointing any fingers when things go wrong. They come on the sideline and see what's going wrong. Everybody's seeing what we can do better to help the defense and just feeding off of each other's energy."
K Robbie Gouldon the challenge kicking in bad weather conditions:
"It's more (about) the conditions on the field than anything. I had to go back to a game I kicked in Chicago against Baltimore, we had a tornado and it rained pretty hard and had sloppy field conditions like today. So, making sure I have good footing and then I thought Garrison Sanborn and Mitch Wishnowsky did a great job of operating today and the guys did a great job. I think the offense did a great job of getting it in the second half to be pretty manageable field goals and the defense did a great job of stopping them all day."
Redskins Quotes
Washington Redskins interim head coach Bill Callahan's on the loss to the 49ers:
"Tough loss today to a good football team. I was proud of the way our guys competed and against one of the better offenses and defenses in the league. Unfortunately, we came up on the short side of the stick. Overall, I see some improvement out there. There are some things we have to fix, and we're headed on to a short week. There's a rapid turnaround as we get ready for Minnesota on Thursday night."
Callahan on not scoring on the team's opening drive:
"Well, it was early so I really thought we could rebound from that. I've got all the confidence in the world in Hop (K Dustin Hopkins), and I just felt that we'd be back in it and we'd have another opportunity. We made that decision again as we went back down the field in the second quarter. We didn't make the line to gain in the fourth and short conversion in the running game. But if we had a kick, we would've been confident in Hop to do that. But I really felt that particular situation merited a go-for try. Unfortunately, we didn't make that critical short yardage play – fourth and inches. That's a play we've gone to many times and to not get that executed was disappointing."
Callahan on changing the game plan due to the weather conditions:
"We stayed with the packages that we had. We just tried to control the calls a little bit differently."
QB Case Keenum on if the weather changed the offensive game plan:
"It definitely impacted the game plan. I think we started off with 12 or 13 straight runs. I thought the offensive line played really well tonight and so did (RB) Adrian (Peterson) who usually plays well. We couldn't get points when we needed it. We played the field position battle a few times, but it just didn't work out. Just being able to catch, snap and punt the ball in that weather was unbelievable. It's just frustrating when you have a chance to score and you don't."
Keenum on the 49ers defense's fourth down stop:
"They made a great play. They have a great defensive line. It's tough to move the ball in this league, especially against a great defense. We have to execute that better next time, all of us."
WR Paul Richardson Jr. on what the weather did to affect the passing the game:
"It probably threw off the timing. We've got to be able to make plays. I don't think we had any drops because of the rain. I don't think about it as much."
CB Quinton Dunbar on whether the 49ers game plan was different than what they prepared for:
"Nothing. They ran what they ran. What we've seen on film is they're a run team first, so they came out and tried to run the ball. I feel like we were pretty effective with that and we were competing. Just got to get a win, try to find a way to get the W."
