Every Monday throughout the season, 49ers.com will ask a different player to break down Sunday's game in this Team Issued column. Even though it was a "Win Monday" and players were not required to come in, 49ers.com was still able to catch up with center Eric Heitmann to get his perspective on the 49ers' 33-30 win in Seattle.
It was a great victory. Looking back at that game, it was a total team effort. There were so many big plays in so many different areas of the game. Guys stepped up and gave us the opportunity to win.
When we were down 14-0 we knew we were making mistakes, and that those were things we could overcome. We didn't feel like they were beating us but that we were beating ourselves. We knew if we could eliminate those mistakes we could get back into the game. We kept our composure and it ended up working out.
That was probably the loudest game I've ever played in. It was the seventh time that I've played in Seattle and it was definitely the loudest that I can remember.
From the first quarter through overtime, they were loud. As an offense, I thought we handled the noise very well. You can't ever use the noise as an excuse and we can't let that be a distraction. I thought we did a good job especially as the game went on.
Apparently, Coach Nolan said that he had never been around a team that could come back from that type of deficit in that kind of environment. That's good to hear. I haven't been on a team that's been as composed as we were last night. A lot of that has to do with the character, focus and drive that this team has. It's exciting to see and it's exciting to know that we're capable of something like that going into the season. A win like that surely helps build confidence.
There are definitely things we need to do better and the first thing that comes to mind is eight sacks. I still have to watch the film but you can never look at it and think the quarterback held onto it too long or it was a coverage sack. It's our job as an offensive line to protect the quarterback until the end of the whistle. If J.T. wants to hold onto it for two minutes, it's our job to protect for two minutes. That's something we're going to look at and we have to get that right.
I thought J.T. played an outstanding game. He was composed and he was a leader in the huddle. He was definitely fired up at times and he's a big part of the reason we moved the ball and scored points.
The defense came up with some big turnovers for us. They happened right when we needed them and it really helped swing the momentum in our favor. They had some great plays at crucial times and they played very well.
There's nothing like an overtime victory so it's exciting. I think we're moving in the right direction and we have to keep building on the things that we do well and work to correct our mistakes. Now we turn the page and look forward to Detroit.
