Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers are the kings of the NFC West after a convincing 21-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, but Shanahan says the team has a bigger goal in mind.
“I'm very proud of our team and what we accomplished throughout the year to get to this,” Shanahan said after the game. “Our goal is to get into the tournament, and we accomplished that today, but now it's all trying to set that up to be the best situation we can and hopefully get some of our guys back, too, in the process.”
“This isn't our final goal by any means,” the 49ers' head coach stressed.
For the second time in four seasons, the 49ers got to celebrate clinching the NFC West in Seattle, after defeating their rivals in Dec. 2019 to lock up the NFC's No. 1 seed. It's also the earliest they've won the division since 2011.
The 49ers are rolling at just the right time, putting together seven straight wins and a 10-4 record with three games left. It's unlikely they'll catch the 12-1 Philadelphia Eagles, but a few more wins could have them as high as second place in the NFC heading into the postseason.
Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has been exceeding expectations since taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13, and he executed Shanahan's game plan excellently on Thursday. The Iowa State product threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns in the win, while playing through two different injuries.
“For him to be able to just play, let alone the way he did, to protect the ball…our team had a lot of respect for him before the game but a lot more now,” Kyle Shanahan said about his new starting QB.
Purdy will have over a week to continue healing from his oblique and rib injuries before the 49ers' battle the Washington Commanders on Christmas Eve. They'll visit Las Vegas on New Year's Day to play the Raiders and host the Arizona Cardinals in the season finale.
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