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"It was a great play call by [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan]. It was a perfect play call for that coverage that they had. [TE Garrett] Celek and [RB] Carlos [Hyde] did a great job picking up the pressure they brought, an all-out blitz. They did a great job stepping up there and taking it to those two guys that were blitzing. The O-Line gave me a bunch of time to get it up to Marquise, a speedster who we knew could get over the top of any coverage. He's the fastest guy in the league. I just had to put it out there for him. He did a great job of breaking the tackle."
Did you see the safety come down on the double route?
"Yeah, that was part of the play. Obviously, if they had a different coverage on it would've been a different read. But, the safety jumped the over route and Marquise ran a post over the top of it and did a great job finishing the play."
How does it feel to finally break through and win a game?
Why was it so important for you to finish off and come back from the injury after you appeared to hurt your hand?
"I just wanted to stick it out there with those guys and finish. I wanted to finish the game in a victory formation and be able to kneel the ball, and that's what we did. It was the first one of the year, and it was just an awesome feeling."
You were kept clean throughout the day contrast to last week. How much does that help you? Do you sense that going through the game that you have a clean pocket and are you able to be more confident?
How was it having T Joe Staley back out there today?
"It was big to have Joe back in there. A veteran guy, this is his eleventh year in the league. Just the veteran leadership, he's an All-Pro guy. Not only to have him on the field but have him in the huddle. Gives your team more confidence."
After you threw that ball to Marquise, I think it was 56 yards in the air. What did that play feel like? You were able to step up; you had great protection. Carlos had a good block for you. What did that feel like just to lay that out there for him to catch it right in stride? You see the sideline just going nuts.
"It was awesome. It starts with the protection, like I said. Carlos did a great job blocking, stepping up, taking it to his guy. So did Celek. Did a great job stepping up and blocking his guy. Gave me enough time, a bunch of time, to make the throw to Marquise. Marquise is one of those guys that you really can't over throw the guy. You can try to throw it as far as you can, and he'll get to it somehow. That was one of those throws, solid coverage, safety cut and laid it out there to him. He did a great job breaking the tackle and getting in the end zone."
"Definitely gives you some good momentum going into the rest of the game. Third-and-eight, a play like that, however many yards it was, it gives the team some spark. Especially on the sidelines. You go over there, and it gets the defense up, and they're all fired up and they go out there and play a great game. You can definitely say it helped motivate and spark the team a little bit."
TE Garrett Celek said you hurt your hand at one point and was thinking about maybe coming out. When did that happen and how were you able to stay in?
"It happened on the touchdown I had, the run. I hit my thumb. It's alright, but I got over to the sideline, just felt how my grip was and tossed a couple balls. I wanted to be in there when we did the victory formation, so I wasn't trying to come out."
Is that the thumb you banged last week?
What did Kyle say in the locker room after the win?
"What did he say?"
Yeah.
"He was just fired up. I think the whole team was fired up. Like I said, there's no better feeling than celebrating with your teammates in there. We got to do that for the first time. The first of many for Kyle and [general manager] John [Lynch]. It was just really awesome to get his first win as a head coach and be able to celebrate that with him."
"Yeah, I think that's a huge part. It's been a long time coming. We've been so close for so many games. It's a play here, a play there that can change the whole course of a game. The guys, the team that we have, we get back, we go to work. There's no drop off Wednesday's practice, just because your record. No one looks at the record on the team and are like, 'Aw whatever.' We go to work, and the guys are supportive of each other and ready to go, and we're fighters. That's what they do. I think that's why it was so awesome to come out and get a win today."
You've said the last couple weeks you're tuning out all the noise with the addition of QB Jimmy Garoppolo and when he may or may not be inserted in the starting lineup. Kyle has said a lot of people say they don't do that, but you actually do it. Where does that come from you think?
"It just comes from a great support system. I've got a great family back home that helps me tune all that stuff out. I came from a good college program where our head coach there harped on that all the time. It's funny, when you're doing good everyone is saying good stuff about you, and then when you're doing bad, they're so quick to bash you. So, it's like why even listen to it. Even when you're doing good. Even when you're doing bad. Just tune it out and don't listen to it. That's what I do. All I can focus on is what I can do and try to help this team be better."
Do you feel you earned the opportunity to start another game, the next game?
* Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers
