Kyle Shanahan is busy preparing his San Francisco 49ers for the team's third consecutive trip to the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. But he still has time to shade the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks when the opportunity arises.
On Thursday, Shanahan was asked how important the “12th man” is going to be this weekend. The Seahawks affectionately refer to their fans as the 12th man. But Shanahan wants no part of that moniker.
“We don’t call them the 12th man here,” he deadpanned to the questioner before cracking a smile, courtesy of The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov.
While the 49ers coach doesn't feel the need to christen the team's fan base with a nickname of any kind, he did label them “very important” to his team's efforts.
Third time's the charm for 49ers?
Playing in front of its home crowd vs. the Lions is the reward San Francisco earned by finishing atop the NFC's bracket. In addition to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Niners also sat out Super Wild Card Weekend.
On Sunday, the NFL world will get to see if extra rest and friendly confines makes a difference during the postseason. The 49ers have had a rough go in NFC Championship Games on the road.
In the 2021 season, the 49ers travelled to face the Los Angeles Rams, falling 20-17. The Rams would of course go on to win the Super Bowl in that very stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles earned the home game and whomped the Niners 31-7. San Francisco infamously ran out of quarterbacks that game due to injuries to Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson. The Eagles would face defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII by a score of 38-35 two weeks later.
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