49ers WR Marquise Goodwin on NFL Network: ‘Our faith in God has helped’

Marquise Goodwin and his wife, Morgan, suffered a tragic loss in the early hours of Sunday morning. Just hours before the San Francisco 49ers kicked off against the New York Giants in search of their first victory of the season, Goodwin and his wife were dealing with the loss of their baby boy.

Due to complications, Goodwin's wife had to deliver their baby prematurely and, sadly, he did not survive.

Encouraged by his wife to do so, Goodwin played in Sunday's game with his 49ers teammates. Not only did he play, but he scored the team's first of four touchdowns against the Giants.

"[Morgan] felt God moved her for allowing me to go play, and she encouraged me, raised my spirits and helped me get ready for the game," Goodwin said via Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group. "That's what's so cool about the situation is my wife, how supportive and encouraging she is. All these great things she does for me, to help me go play the way I did. It speaks more about her character than mine."

Following the 49ers' first victory of the season, Goodwin's teammates celebrated in the locker room while he sat there with a heavy heart. Goodwin immediately left Levi's Stadium after the celebration. Only a small handful of his teammates and coaches knew what had happened that morning. Few knew what Goodwin was going through and what it took for him to play in the game.

Once the game concluded, Santa Clara police escorted Goodwin through stadium traffic so he could return to the hospital to be with his wife, according to 49ers play-by-play announcer Ted Robinson.

On Wednesday, Goodwin joined NFL Network's "Up to the Minute" and spoke with host Andrew Siciliano about his family's loss.


Goodwin on how he is doing considering the circumstances:

"My wife and I, we're doing better today. Obviously, we've seen better days. Definitely seen worse days so just thankful for life this morning."

Goodwin on the decision to play on Sunday:

"It was definitely [Morgan's] decision for me to go. I gave her the option. Did she want me to go to the game or did she want me to stay at the hospital with her? And she insisted that I go to play and help my team try to get a victory. It was very selfless of her to allow me to go and do something like that."

Goodwin on not wanting to leave his wife's side:

"Definitely didn't. It was a no-brainer for me. At that point, I knew that I wanted to go and just be with her at the hotel but about the time that I left, she had insisted that I stay where I was and proceed getting prepared for the game and that was huge for me as a husband, being the person that's suppose to support your partner through everything. I know I'm supposed to be there for her no matter what and her insisting that I go and do something instead of being by her side during the time when she needed me most, it speaks volumes about her character. A lot less about me and more about her. Her resiliency and her willingness to be so selfless and to allow me to go and do my job, words really can't explain..." Goodwin becomes emotional at this point trying not to cry.

Goodwin on what the emotions were like and what he thought when he scored his touchdown:

"A lot of emotions during that time. You never think that situations like these will happen to you and this is something that I wanted, that my wife had wanted since we've been together, since we got married. To have that taken away from you, it's a very emotional situation. Something that we've never dealt with and we really didn't know how to handle at the time. So it's something that we take day by day but our faith in God has helped alleviate a lot of that stress and pressure that we felt that day. And scoring that touchdown and just getting on my knees and praying to God -- when I was on my knees, I was just thanking God for the opportunity and thanking him for allowing me to showcase my sentiments on the situation. Being able to show that even through tough situations, you can still make it through with your faith and praying and still giving God his due glory regardless of what circumstances you are in."

Goodwin on not wanting most of his teammates to know what he was going through:

"I just didn't want it to be a distraction. I didn't want to make anything about me. It's a wonderful organization that I play for and I'm thankful that I get to be a part of that. For me, this is not about me. I don't want to bring my personal issues to the field. During game time, I don't want to take any focus from anybody else. Even my cousin, Adrian, he found out at the last minute. He went out there and said, 'Hey cuz, I'm going to play for you. I'm going to play for you and this baby.' He had a great game as well. Adrian Colbert. Having such a great support system like my teammates and my coaches and the whole organization, all the way from ownership, all the way down, it speaks volumes about this organization. It's more than just football. This is a family, win, lose, or draw. Athletes, we have normal lives too. We lead normal lives. When we clock out, when we get off that field, when we get off that court, that track, whatever it may be, we still have to be humans and that definitely shows right here."

Goodwin on what his emotions were like following the game:

"Honestly, my mind was everywhere at the time. I was thankful for the win but it still was a moment that I really didn't get to indulge in. I was the last one in the locker room and I walked in and everyone was partying. I was happy for them. But I went to my locker and I sat at my locker while everybody was partying and I was just praying to God and thanking him for that opportunity, shed a few tears, messaged my wife to check on her, and then went over for Kyle's [Shanahan] speech. For him to get his first win as a head coach, a lot of people don't know what that means. A lot of people who are outside the organization or outside of football, they don't know how hard it is to win in this league. Such high-caliber athletes, an elite group of people competing each week and it's hard to get a win so when we have those moments, we have to embrace them."

"Pray for us," Goodwin said at the end of the conversation.