Deebo Samuel grabbed the football from his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, and ran it up the middle to the San Francisco 49ers 44-yard line for a two-yard gain with two minutes left in the game. The Niners were up 31-13, which ended up being the final score against the Atlanta Falcons.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan could have put in his backups. Fans probably would have loved seeing rookie quarterback Trey Lance getting some reps at the end despite the impressive outing by starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
San Francisco is entering a short week and will head on the road to play the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. With a comfortable lead, many questioned why the team's starters were still in the game against the Falcons.
Feels like Deebo shouldn't be taking carries up the middle at this point in the game
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) December 19, 2021
Was there ever a point when Shanahan considered pulling his starters to give them some extra rest ahead of what will be a rigorous and abbreviated week?
"No, not at all," Shanahan responded after the game. "All I was thinking about was the last time we were up by 14 versus these guys in the fourth quarter (in 2019), and we lost. So, [in the] fourth quarter, [I] didn't really start to relax until I think we got our second first down there. I think we took about five minutes off the clock on that last drive. Then [I] felt alright."
Don't expect any celebrations after this latest win. The 49ers know they have to turn around and prepare for the Titans quickly.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said, "Kyle [Shanahan] was very blunt with us and said, 'We're not celebrating tonight. It's time to get ready for Tennessee, and we'll celebrate Thursday night. And hopefully, we have a lot to celebrate after that game.' And it's nice. This will be one of the first Christmases in 10 years, for me, that I don't have to go to work. So, hopefully, we have that to celebrate and a few other things after that big game."
The coach's message is clear—get the job done first, and the 49ers can celebrate at the end. San Francisco has three more regular-season games remaining and is entrenched in the NFC playoff picture. So players will have an opportunity to catch their breath after Thursday.
"We just know what's at stake," wide receiver Deebo Samuel added. "We've got a game on Thursday. It's a short week. We've just got to lock in and continue to build off of this game, and continue to play the ball we've been playing."