Things got a little heated during the first half of Sunday's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars. Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins threw a punch that connected with 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings, resulting in a penalty, the defender getting ejected from the game, and keeping San Francisco's drive alive.
What was head coach Kyle Shanahan's message to his young receiver after the scuffle?
"I just told him, 'Great job. Now put your helmet on,'" Shanahan told reporters via a conference call on Monday. "It took him too long to hear 'put your helmet on,' but I thought, from what I saw, I saw him competing as hard as you can compete on a run play and just playing until the whistle.
"Obviously, the other guy got upset with him, did some things to Jauan that I was a little worried about because Jauan gets very excited. And I was just proud of him that he was able to keep his composure, especially after he got hit in the face with his helmet off, and for him not to retaliate because regardless of what happens, you're not allowed to hit anyone back either.
"So I was just proud of him for doing that, and I think that's a very important 15-yard penalty because we had just got stopped on 3rd-and-3 on that Jet Sweep, so it was a huge play by him."
Later in the drive, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo found wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the touchdown as the 49ers rolled to an eventual 30-10 victory.
"And there was twice there in the red zone that he led us to getting first downs or, really, led to us getting points that didn't have much to do with him in the play," Shanahan continued. "And that was the first time recovering the fumble that Jeff [Wilson Jr.] had. And the second time was he got that penalty."
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