For the San Francisco 49ers, it had been a long time since they were able to enjoy a victory. It’s been 14 long weeks to be exact, including the bye week, since they last beat the hapless Rams. Yes, the 49ers swept the Rams, but with it only being their second win, there have been critics saying that they shouldn’t have been so enthusiastic. I disagree. Not only was this the team finally “scratching the itch,” so to speak, it was the first win of the season for several players that either weren’t active or even on the roster in week one.
Here is a list of the 49ers players who had their first win of the season in Los Angeles:
- QB Colin Kaepernick
- OL Joshua Garnett
- OL Andrew Tiller
- OL John Theus
- WR DeAndre Smelter
- TE Je’ron Hamm
- TE Jim Dray
- RB DuJuan Harris
- OL Alex Balducci
- DT Chris Jones
- CB Keith Reaser
- LB Aaron Lynch
- LB Carl Bradford
- LB Wynton McManis
- S Vinnie Sunseri
- S Marcus Ball
- CB Prince Charles Iworah
Here are quotes from the players about what felt like to not only get the win, but to get it in dramatic fashion with a come from behind win:
CB Rashard Robinson
On his teammates’ reaction to his interception play
“To be honest, I really wanted to get up out there. It was pretty hot. Juices were going. Everybody was so happy. It was a great team win. It was just a great stop as a defense because our defense has been getting criticized so much. We just came together as a staff and as a team and just played great ball.”
On how much of a relief it is to finally end their losing streak
“It’s big relief because we had so many games that we just came a play short, a yard short. And finally, to put everything together – even though we had all these injuries and stuff – buy in as a team and just go out there and just execute. It was a lot of stress of everybody’s shoulders. It was stress lifted off everybody’s shoulders. It seemed like we were down, we’ve been facing adversity this whole year and we finally just overcame all that and to come back out and play how we played that second half, that was something major. That’s going to stick with me. Just me alone, I’m never going to forget this game, for sure.”
DE DeForest Buckner
On what it was like to see Rams QB Jared Goff throw an interception on the last play
“It was just awesome to see the whole team getting riled up like that. I haven’t seen that in awhile.”
On how hard they have been training
“We’ve been working our tails off the whole season, and that ‘W’ was past due. It was just a really good early Christmas present.”
On what the locker room thinks about Head Coach Chip Kelly after today’s win
“Yeah, like I was saying earlier, everybody’s behind him and all the coaching staff. We’ve been beating ourselves all year - unnecessary turnovers and little things like that. We’re all behind him and we believe in this process.”
S Antoine Bethea
On how it feels to win the game in a dramatic fashion
“At this point, it feels good. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been a long time that we’ve felt this way. The way we won it – it speaks volumes on our team, our character, the pride that we play with, and I’m just happy for the guys.”
LB Ahmad Brooks
On what this win means
“It means a lot. For us to get a win before the season is over, because I think guys were holding their heads down just saying, ‘Hey, the season is over, but we didn’t approach this game like that.’ We approached this game as if we were going to win. Guys still put in the hard work. We just continued to fight, and I’m proud of the guys we have in here because (49ers CB Tramaine Brock) ‘T-Brock’ set the tone for the game today getting that interception. Then, watching (49ers QB Colin Kaepernick) ‘Kaep’ go out there the last two series. He pretty much put the team on his back, and all the receivers and offensive linemen. We’ve had so many different guys go down and so many new guys step in and do a great job for us, that it’s a good feeling to see those guys go out there and perform well.”
G Andrew Tiller
On what’s going through his mind when he feels the comeback happening
“It’s indescribable. I really can’t describe the feeling. You just get the butterflies going and you just feel like something great is about to happen. We went out there and we finally put it all together, and we came back from 21-7. Not a lot of people can do that, especially in the position that we’re in right now. Well, we were 1-13. You would think, ‘Oh, what do these guys have to play for?’ We play for ourselves, and we went out there and we just put it all on the line and we came out with that W.”
QB Colin Kaepernick
On how it felt to win this game despite a season of mostly losses
“It felt amazing. A feeling that this team has been looking for, for a long time now. To be able to come out and get this win today was huge for us and it’s something this team can build on.”
On what he learned about his teammates after going through a 13 game losing streak and rallying to win tonight
“It reveals the character of this team and players. I think the ability to continue to fight, to continue to try and do your job every play, and remain focused in spite of the circumstances that you are in, I think, is huge. It shows the type of character that this team has, that even though we don’t have a playoff opportunity, people say we really aren’t playing for anything, that they take pride in their work and come out here and fight to get a win.”