SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 2, 2025

Kyle Shanahan

49ers 34, Giants 24

Q. How would you assess Mac's performance today, and what has he come to show you week after week?

KYLE SHANAHAN: I thought Mac did a hell of a job, extremely efficient in what he was doing, going against a real tough pass rush. Probably only one negative play in the game, just the fumble there at the end of the second quarter. Hell of a play by -- I think it was Brian Burns who did it, but Mac played really well, took care of the ball, got the ball to the right guys, and made a couple plays with his legs, too.

Q. How did you feel like Spencer Burford did at left guard?

KYLE SHANAHAN: I think he did well. Excited to watch him there on the plane. But only one came up I thought that wasn't all his fault, just a full slide on one of the sacks. But felt like he did well in the run and pass game. I was excited to get him back.

Q. What did you think of Brian Robinson Jr.?

KYLE SHANAHAN: I thought he played really well, too. Ran the ball well. Completely flipped me, I went from being extremely angry with him for not taking a touchback to eating my own words and saying hell of a job. I don't know where he got to, but I believe he got close to the 50, but it was a hell of a return and played real well today.

Q. What's it like as a play caller when you finish a nine-play drive with eight straight runs?

KYLE SHANAHAN: It's very fun. It's awesome. It's so tempting the whole time. You're like, man, can you do it again and get away with it, maybe we should do a play action off of it, screw it, we'll just keep running it, and the guys came through. That's one of the most enjoyable drives that you can go on when it's all run plays.

Q. Tatum had 16 total tackles today. What have you seen from him?

KYLE SHANAHAN: He knows how to play the position. He's got a good real knack for playing football in terms of in the box and making tackles. I think he's getting better and better in the pass game, had some big hits today.

I know he got that one penalty, but from what I saw, I disagreed with it. So we'll see when we see the tape. But yeah, I can't say enough good things about Tatum today.

Q. After that opening drive, after that touchdown drive they had, it seemed like the defense, when they came back on that second and third series, they were swarming to the ball and hitting. Was there a message cutting across?

KYLE SHANAHAN: It's not like we had some big pump-up thing that we needed to start hitting, but we definitely felt it more after that first drive. The first drive was a very rough one.

And I thought it was such a big play Jordan Watkins made, I think it was like 2nd and 20. We don't make that completion there, the odds are you're not getting it on 3rd and 20 or 3rd and 15, whatever that was. So that was a huge down.

Also, we were going to punt. Thought it was 4th and 2, but it moved up a little bit, half a yard. It was huge getting that sneak on the 4th down and answering, then after that the defense was real impressive all game.

Q. The underneath stuff that they were throwing today, how much of a point of emphasis was tackling today?

KYLE SHANAHAN: I thought we did better, definitely. We definitely did better. Still looked like we missed some tackles out there, got a little loose, especially there at the end giving up some big plays. I wish we didn't let them get in the end zone there at the end, but I was always real happy with the defense overall.

Q. 6-3 instead of 5-4, does it change your approach at the trade deadline as far as adding?

KYLE SHANAHAN: Yeah, I think it's been the exact same, regardless of our record. We've been looking at it the same all year. Nothing changes based off today.

Q. What did you think about the contributions from Keion White and Clelin Ferrell?

KYLE SHANAHAN: Seemed like they did real well. I know that big play, I saw that one that Cle made, looked like that ball was -- I don't know if it came out, but it was about to come out.

But I thought our pass rush was great, chasing around Jaxson all day. It's such a big challenge. Guy is going to be a hell of a player. But I thought we swarmed him very well and can't say enough good things about the D-line.

Q. I know his rehab is the most important thing to Fred, but do you know how much time he's spending with Tatum every week in prepping?

KYLE SHANAHAN: No, but probably not much. He's rehabbing and Tatum is real busy doing what we have to do.

Q. Was George supposed to get the jet sweep on that?

KYLE SHANAHAN: Yeah, he was, yeah. Pretty bad call, though. (Laughter.)

Q. What was your message to the team? You guys are 6-3 but this division is so tough.

KYLE SHANAHAN: No message. We just talked about the game, told everyone how proud I was. I thought all three phases had a huge part in that game today. Gave them their first victory Monday of the year, so I know they were excited about that. We'll see them Wednesday and get back to work.

Q. How close was Brock to being active today?

KYLE SHANAHAN: We'll reassess it the same way we did this week. Wasn't that close to doing it. I considered it throughout the week, but just want to make sure he gets 100 percent better and don't put him out there too early. Thought about it as a possible backup or emergency, but I think the more time we give him, the more.

Q. Is that an uncertainty every week where you guys say maybe he'll play, maybe he won't? Do you see that affect Mac's preparation at all?

KYLE SHANAHAN: No, nothing changes Mac in that way. We're trying to ease Brock out there into practice stuff, but anytime you're dealing with this turf toe, it's probably something that probably won't fully go away all year, regardless of when he comes back. He's always going to have to deal with it a little bit, especially with the people you talk to who have gone through turf toe.

It's really about just assessing when is the best time to come back that you have to deal with it the least. It's a little bit of a tricky decision.

Q. Is there a possibility that he'll need surgery after the season?

KYLE SHANAHAN: Not that I've been told.

Q. Did you get a chance to talk afterwards?

KYLE SHANAHAN: Yeah, just real quickly.

Q. How is he?

KYLE SHANAHAN: He's just down, and you never know, so I said, hey, hopefully it's not the worst. But if it is, hey, it sucks for this year, but that's all it sucks for. You'll be back next year and this won't affect you at all.

Q. After just 10 rushing attempts last week, what impressed you about the running game?

KYLE SHANAHAN: I mean, just -- collectively as a team we were able to stick with it. I think last week just the amount of runs was indicative that we had the least amount of plays I think in like 40 years, so I think that affected a lot of stuff.

But I thought getting the run game going today, wearing them down and the way you get those numbers called is how you finish games. To be able to wear them down, get a two-score lead, be able to stay on the field, have I think a 10-play drive where I think nine of the plays were run plays or something like that, it was a huge team deal getting those run calls, and it feels very similar to Atlanta in that way.

Q. How would you describe the shot in the arm that Mac has given you guys?

KYLE SHANAHAN: I just know how much confidence guys have in Brock, and then when Brock goes down, I mean, when you lose your starting quarterback, it's always tough on a team.

But the way Mac stepped in there, going back to New Orleans and how he was that first game to how he's been in practice, how he was in the off-season, Mac has been great.

Q. Christian had more than 30 touches again, big game for him. I think he leads the league in that category. Is it a credit to something that he changed in terms of his practice regimen? You mentioned kind of trying to ease him in week to week this season after maybe he wouldn't hold himself back the previous season. How has that maybe helped?

KYLE SHANAHAN: I think Christian has always been pretty durable. I think last year he had something that bothered him in the off-season that never fully went away, and when it finally did get better, he tore his knee on a random run versus Buffalo.

If you ask Christian, and I agree, Christian has always been a very durable player. But when you get bad injuries on stuff, then it affects guys and you miss the year.

Christian is the most conditioned, prepared athlete I've ever been around. He's such a big factor in blocking, running, passing. He's one of the best players I've ever been around.

I'd like to say he figured something out, but I mean, the guy goes as hard as he can every off-season, so there's not much more to figure out.

DraftScripts by ASAP Sports