49ers’ Shanahan admits he began studying Packers by halftime of win over Cowboys

It didn’t take too long for Kyle Shanahan to conclude that San Francisco would be facing Green Bay in the divisional round.

The 49ers coach shared that he began working under the assumption that his team would be taking on the Packers (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) before halftime of the latter’s 48-32 win against the Cowboys this past Sunday. 

“We were already in here. So, we were doing it that day,” Shanahan told reporters of the 49ers’ preparations for the Packers. “We started really focusing on [the Packers] halfway through the second quarter.”

The Packers quickly got out to a lead in their win over the Cowboys, scoring a touchdown on the game’s opening drive. They made it 14-0 by the opening minutes of the second quarter and jumped ahead 27-0 before the half.

“Then [the Cowboys] scored at the end of the second quarter,” Shanahan said. “So, I kind of did both [teams] at halftime. Third quarter, I was set on one team.”

The Cowboys scored 10 points late in the second quarter, but that didn’t slow down the Packers. They increased their lead to 32 points by the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

Jordan Love throws for 272 yards and three TDs in Packers’ 48-32 win over Cowboys

If the Cowboys were able to pull off the comeback, the 49ers would have taken on the Buccaneers, which they wouldn’t have known until Monday evening.

But that’s all in the past, now, as is the 49ers’ bye week. San Francisco was able to rest up after getting the No. 1 seed in the NFC, giving All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey more time to heal. CMC was slated to be a full participant in Tuesday’s practice after missing the team’s regular-season finale with a calf strain, Shanahan told reporters.  

“I think he’s geared up and ready to go, the same way he was last year,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey. “Probably the same way he was in a playoff game when he was 5 years old, too, or a scrimmage. Christian is always the same. He’s always waiting for that…

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Publish date : 2024-01-16 23:39:36

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