The San Francisco 49ers secured a hard-fought 16-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in their home opener, moving to 3-0 on the season. On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan shared updates and reflections following the dramatic finish at Levi's® Stadium.
Injury Updates
The 49ers suffered a hard hit to the defensive line with confirmation that Nick Bosa tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Shanahan emphasized that while Bosa is irreplaceable, the team will rally together to fill the void by committee.
"You don't just replace a guy like Nick," Shanahan said. "Everyone's got to continue to get better… Lots of guys obviously will have to step it up as it goes, but I believe that'll be more by committee than any individual."
Other injury notes:
- QB Mac Jones (knee), day-to-day
- DL Mykel Williams (wrist), day-to-day
- CB Renardo Green (neck), day-to-day
- DL C.J. West (thumb), undergoing surgery, potential to return as soon as this week with a cast
- WR Jauan Jennings (ankle, shoulder), remains day-to-day
Despite the setbacks, Shanahan expressed confidence in the depth across the roster, pointing to the way multiple players stepped up in extended roles on Sunday.
D-Line Depth Will Be Tested
Even without Bosa, the defensive front showed encouraging signs. Shanahan praised Mykel Williams for his best game yet and pointed to consistent contributions from Bryce Huff and Sam Okuayinonu.
"I had definitely been happy with those guys. I think they've done better each week. I thought Mykel had a really good game yesterday. I think Huff's done some real good things, Sam O, all our edge players I think have been contributing and hopefully they continue to get better throughout this year."
Upton Stout's Impact
The rookie corner made one of the game's defining plays, breaking up a would-be completion on Cardinals receiver Zay Jones on third down that gave the 49ers offense a chance at the decisive final drive.
"I've been impressed with the guy since really he has gotten here. Just that play that he made to give the offense a chance to get that ball back for that final drive was just huge... I can't tell you how many times this happened in practice where I think we have him beat and I think we for sure have a completion and I'm kind of moving on to the next play and then at the end of the play I see the ball's on the ground. It's just kind of how he's been since he's gotten here. The guy never stops, he's always going so hard, never hesitates, never flinches and doesn't stop until the whistle blows. I think that was a perfect example of something that really doesn't surprise us because of how many times we've seen it in practice."
Respect for the O-Line
San Francisco's young offensive linemen faced challenges against Arizona's front. Rookie Connor Colby battled through an injury to get his first-career start at guard, drawing praise from Shanahan for his toughness.
"I thought the fact that Connor was able to battle and do some of the stuff that he did, especially with the injury that he had on Thursday just had a ton of respect for him getting through that game. It wasn't perfect. There was definitely protection, there was a few that he missed. But overall, I thought he played good enough for us to win and just earned a lot of respect with the guys actually just being able to play with what happened to him earlier in the week."
Demarcus Robinson Returns
The veteran wide receiver is back this week after serving a three-week suspension due to a violation the NFL's personal conduct policy, and he's eligible to play in Sunday's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Shanahan expressed excitement about reintegrating him into the offense.
"Demarcus, I'm pumped to get him back. I know it was a long three weeks for him, so we're real excited to have him back working with us. We'll kind of see where he is at when we get out on the practice field Wednesday, physically at least."
Finding a Way to Win
The 49ers had limited time of possession and a few uphill battles throughout the game. Still, the team showed resilience by delivering in key moments, including the defense's late stop and the offense's final drive capped with the game-winning field goal.
"Anytime you have two turnovers like that and a tie game with under five-and-a-half minutes is extremely rare to find a way to win. Usually that has to do with something kind of out of the ordinary, like a blocked kick returned for a touchdown or something like that. And for nothing really unusual to happen, just normal football and executing stuff, our defense getting it back ending that play on third-down and the offense to just be able to go down there and kick it on a final play with the field goal, I just thought it just showed our guys didn't waver, kept going and found a way to get it on the last play of the game."
