The following are select post-game quotes from San Francisco 49ers players following Sunday's 24-20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Quotes provided by the 49ers Communications staff.
LB Kwon Alexander
What does it say that you can go out there after five turnovers and still get a win?
"The thing you could say about us is we just play hard, we fight hard to the end. One thing about our team is we're not going to give up and we're going to play for each other. And, that's what I love about the team so much. We fight for each other and we don't let up."
What is the mood on the sidelines when the offense gets another turnover and you guys are going out on the field again?
"Did you see us when we were out there on the field? It doesn't matter. No, that's our mindset. Wherever we're at on the field, we're going to do our thing. It doesn't matter if we're on the two-yard line, or if the ball's put on the two-yard line. It doesn't matter. We're going to go out there and just play hard, and finish the game."
DL Arik Armstead
On the defensive line, this front seam, you're three games in, it seems like more and more plays are being made by you guys.
"Yeah, I think we're barely scratching the surface too. You know, we're still finding our groove and getting comfortable with each other, but we have the mindset to stick together and fight through our games. You know, we put it on us to go out there and get the job done."
Can you take us through the first fumble there at the end?
"Yeah, it was just a run play. I was getting vertical, bounced it and cut back, and was able to get him and you know, get the ball out."
Were you going for the ball there?
"I was trying to wrap him up and I was able to, my arm hit the ball, so."
With them winning the turnover battle, did you feel like it was going to get to some point where you guys were going to get one yourselves?
"Yeah, that's what we're always striving for is creating turnovers on defense. You know, we figured if we keep fighting, keep fighting, it's going to happen."
DL DeForest Buckner
CB Richard Sherman was in here saying that you guys embrace being put in tough spots. You guys were in tough spots at different points of the game today. What does that say about your group to be able to overcome that?
"Yeah, everybody, the defense, man, I'm proud of every single one of them. Nobody shied away from the challenge. We love that. It's more of an opportunity for us as a defense to get better, to show what we can do. It just shows the hard work that we put in on the offseason altogether and it's coming to fruition."
You've been here obviously through some tough times. To be 3-0, what's the difference like in terms of having a team that looks like it can do some things?
"Yeah, like you said, I think the organization hasn't been 3-0 since like 1998, so that's a big accomplishment. It's a great day. Coming in 3-0, the Seahawks lost today, which is also a good thing. But, yeah, it's a great feeling. A lot of the guys, we're a young team and we're still learning to win. We could've made that game a lot easier on ourselves. We found every possible way as a team to kind of shoot ourselves in the foot a little bit, make it a little challenging, but the main thing is coming out with a win and that's what we did."
You all are learning how to win and with the five turnovers and the defense playing as well as you guys did, what does that do confidence-wise moving past this bye week?
"Yeah, we know as a group we can be so much better. Defensive-wise, obviously, we let a couple slip. We know we can do better on that on all phases. Offensively, obviously, we had five turnovers. It's just the little things. It's executing and just taking care of the ball and getting the ball on defense. I felt like we could've gotten a couple more today, and we missed those opportunities. We've just got to go back, watch film and see what we can get better on."
TE Ross Dwelley
How does it feel to just be a part of this team, 3-0 now?
"It feels amazing. 3-0 is just amazing. What we went through last year, being in games like this and not being able to finish. To finish a game like this, a close game like this, it feels even sweeter."
What does it take to go from all that adversity that you faced to be here today for the kids that have gone through it and still will?
"It takes a lot of adversity. It takes a lot of handling that adversity. Coming from a small school, you're not going to get that many looks. You just have to put good stuff on film and show everyone what you've got."
FB Kyle Juszczyk
How early did you get a sense that the safety was coming over on your catch?
"To be honest, I didn't know where the safety was at. My focus was making the inside linebacker miss and trying to get out to the sideline. It was a kind of a weird angle, I was in that seam area, so I had an idea that he would be there but I didn't actually know where."
What did you learn about this team, in finding ways to win?
"I feel like this team is resilient, there is confidence in ourselves. Even when things are going bad, we know that we can turn things around. I am so impressed with our defense, I think that our defense is so legit and we can play with anybody. On offense we just have to clean up the turnovers. There is two ways to look at this game. You can focus on the negatives and on all of the turnovers but at the same time you can look at the positives like wow we had all of those turnovers and we still won this game. Think about if we clean those up."
T Mike McGlinchey
Have you ever played in a game like this at any level?
"Yeah, it felt very similar to Arizona at home last year. Last year, we didn't come out on the right side of that one. I think we had even more yards in that game than we did today, and we still found a way to win. That's what's huge about this team."
When you got the ball back the last time [in the fourth quarter], what was the emotion? Was it just "charge through the huddle?"
"Absolutely. Our defense made a huge play, getting the ball back on our side of the field, that late in the game after we had just gotten down to the 10-yard line and then turned the ball over again. That's what winning football teams do. They make plays in big moments. They gave us one last shot, and [San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo] did a good job of getting us down the field. I'm so happy for [San Francisco 49ers WR Dante Pettis] to get over that hump and get into the end zone to win us the game."
That final turnover inside the 10-yard line, the others it seemed like, "OK, we can overcome this," whereas this one seemed like a killer. What was your reaction to that?
"As soon as it happened, I looked up to see how much time was left, and I think there were six-ish minutes, so I knew it wasn't over. I knew we still had a chance. Our defense is different, and there are guys over there that are built different. They made a huge play. Like I said earlier, that's what winning football teams do, make huge plays in huge moments. It was a huge moment for us and gave us a last chance to get what we needed to do all day finally done."
WR Dante Pettis
Can you talk about that catch for the last touchdown?
"It was a good win. We fought hard. We obviously didn't play as well as we wanted to but we came out on top. That is all that really matters. We got the ball back from the fumble recovery, so we knew that we had a really good chance to at least tie it. We got a few good plays going and ended up down at the goal line and they called the play. I was like okay here it goes, this is it."
What goes through your mind when they call that play and you know it is coming your way?
"Let's go. This is what we work for. If you don't want to be in that moment, if you don't want the ball right there, you shouldn't be playing sports. That is kind of what you live for."
You guys are 3-0. Did you imagine that?
"Yes. We all knew what we could do. There is obviously a lot that we need to work on, but we knew that we were a lot better than we were last year. We just have to keep fighting every day."
CB Richard Sherman
How was this team able to win while turning the ball over five times?
"It's just resilience. It's growth. It's growth from offense, defense, special teams, because it takes three units to win a ball game. That's what we did tonight. We showed that all three units had trust in one another, all three units picked each other up when the other fell apart, and that's how we were able to win the game. It was trust and you appreciate games like that. Me as a nine-year veteran, I can appreciate games like this. I've been in quite a few of them, and how you respond to these games goes a long way to how your season goes. I think our men responded well."
Ahead of today's game, you called for the fans to come out today and be loud. It seems like they did that. How did that energy play into the win today?
"It had a great impact. Niner gang, we appreciate you guys. We went out there and fought for you. It's not always pretty. It's not always going to be a blowout and just get to sit comfortably in your seats and drink. Sometimes, we've got to keep you on the edge of your seats. Got to keep you involved, got to keep you in the seats, you know. That's what they told us. But, we appreciate you guys sticking through, being loud, being proud. 3-0 for the first time since '98."
What was the energy like on the bench when you, obviously, you went back out again after several turnovers? What was it like on the bench?
"One thing we pride ourselves on is being the same, regardless, good, bad or indifferent. You have to approach the game the same way. It was probably more enthusiastic when we got the turnovers than it was when we didn't. Like when our offense gave up a turnover and put us in a hard spot, we took it as Murphy's Law. We took it as Murphy's Law, and you want to slap Murphy in the face, and we did that today. We took Murphy's Law- everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. You take it with a smile, and you go out there and preserver, and that's what we did today as a defense. That's what our offense did and that's what our special teams did today. That's what we did as a full team."
OL Justin Skule
How do you think you played overall?
"A lot of stuff to fix. Can't have those penalties, those were costly penalties at pretty bad times. I had a couple of good things, but I am going to learn from it all from the tape and move on."
How has San Francisco 49ers OL Joe Staley been throughout the week helping you get ready?
"He has been phenomenal. Just giving me pointers, watching film with me, doing all sorts of things, giving me little tricks that he knows, that sort of thing. I couldn't have asked for a better person to help me."
What did you think of the blind-side block penalty?
"Obviously I would never try to hurt anyone. I was trying lead with my shoulder. I didn't want him to hit [San Francisco 49ers QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo]. My job is to protect the quarterback. That is what I was trying to do. I was just trying to make sure he didn't get to the quarterback. I will look at it and learn from it for sure."
CB K'Waun Williams
After five turnovers, it was about time the defense provided us with some. Take us through the pick.
"We just played our regular coverage. I just did a kind of disguise and I fell back into the route. I felt something coming behind me so just fell off and picked the ball."
On the last turnover that led to the game-winning drive. If any team needed a break was the 49er's at the time, right?
"Yes, our defense just kept going. Everybody was focused and locked in. We were just preaching a turnover and we ended up getting it."
