GETTY Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field after defeating the Dallas Cowboys 23-17 in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game.
The San Francisco 49ers are heading to the Divisional Round to face the Green Bay Packers after defeating the Dallas Cowboys 23-17.
The Niners had a tall order in a road trip to AT&T Stadium, but a hot start and some key plays down the stretch allowed San Francisco to hang on as the Cowboys attempted a comeback. San Francisco will walk away feeling like they can’t get away with some of the mistakes they made late in the game, but the playoffs are all about surviving and advancing.
However, there were two major injuries to two of San Francisco’s stars in linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa. Bosa suffered a concussion in the first half, while Warner suffered an ankle injury in the second half.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan quickly addressed Warner’s injury in the post-game press conference. When the linebacker went down, he was grabbing at his leg and seemed to be in immense pain. But David Lombardi is reporting that Shanahan thinks the injury is close or the same as the one Warner suffered earlier in the season.
Shanahan says he thinks Fred Warner’s ankle injury is similar to the one he sustained earlier in the year, and that sounds like good news for the 49ers — Warner would be able to return next week if that’s indeed the case
The Niners would desperately want their linebacker to return in the game against the Packers and the likes of star running back Aaron Jones.
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Update on Bosa
Every injury is scary, but concussions are always a terrifying moment due to the potential of damage. But it appears that Bosa isn’t in too bad of shape after being hit by teammate D.J. Jones on a pass rush attempt.
“#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said DE Nick Bosa will go in concussion protocol this week,” ESPN reporter Nick Wagoner tweeted. “LB Fred Warner will have further imaging done on his ankle when team returns to the Bay. Shanahan said injury for Warner similar to one earlier in the season for him.”
This update from Shanahan came alongside Bosa’s father saying that his son is doing well, per NBC Sports reporter Jennifer Lee Chan.
Just spoke to Nick Boss’s dad who shared that his son was doing fine even though he missed the second half of the game with a concussion.
#49ers
When concussions happen, players are supposed to not play the rest of the game until further testing and protocol. It makes sense that Bosa may have felt up to come back in, but wasn’t allowed to due to the rules.
To add further context to John Bosa’s statement, there was video shared of the former Miami Dolphin celebrating with his son’s teammates after the win.
Nick Bosa’s dad celebrates with the guys after the win and says Bosa is doing fine 🙏 via @MaioccoNBCS
Shanahan Speaks on End of Game
The 49ers didn’t expect the game to end like it did, but they’ll take the win all the same. After Cowboys QB Dak Prescott tucked and ran with under 20 seconds left, the Cowboys were not able to get the ball spotted to run a spike and set up a last-chance throw at the endzone.
Some Niners fans may feel the Cowboys should’ve never had a chance to win if San Francisco had managed the game properly. But Shanahan knows football games rarely go exactly as planned, and there’s a lot of ways to win a game.
“That’s the cool thing about football,” Shanahan said per East Bay Times reporter Cam Inman. “It’s never a 7-game series. There’s lots of ways to win one game… I feel we have a team built do to do it. I’d like to finish people out better at the end and we shouldn’t have given the ball back to them… But I’m proud of the guys when they found bad adversity they still found a way to win.”