The following are select post-game quotes from San Francisco 49ers players following Monday night's 31-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Quotes provided by the 49ers Communications staff.
DL Nick Bosa
Do you feel like this team is not going to be a fake undefeated team this year?
"I think that is pretty clear. It is time to play division opponents so that is what really matters. We are not done."
What was working so well for you tonight?
"I was doing the same thing that I have been doing, just rushing my butt off. The fact that all the things came together for me to get a couple of sacks. A sack is a number of things; it is not just somebody winning a rush. My job is to win the rush and do my job. The DBs job is to cover and make him hold it a couple extra seconds and the rest of the guys stay in their rush lanes to keep him contained in the pocket. So there is a lot that goes into those sacks."
San Francisco 49ers LB Dee Ford just told us that there are so many capable guys on this defense, that you can't just gang up on one guy and that opens things up for everybody. Is that what you feel as well?
"Yes. I got a lot of one-on-one opportunities tonight and I knew that I could win them. Just having Dee burning off the edge and the inside guys [DL] Arik [Armstead], [DL DeForest Buckner] Buck, just closing it. [Cleveland Browns QB] Baker [Mayfield] couldn't see anything downfield. Some of my sacks should go to them."
Can you tell when a quarterback is getting rustled and did you see some of that tonight?
"Yes. I don't know how anybody can think he could see over Arik and Buck but he was panicking, double clutching, rolling back and forth, we had him rattled all game."
RB Matt Breida
What did you see on that first play?
"A big hole. I saw a big hole. The offensive line, and the receivers did a great job of blocking. The play worked out how it was supposed to."
As a total run game, you had it rolling tonight. What was working?
"Everything. I thought we could run the ball on every play on them. Again, a big shout out to the offensive line, the receivers, the quarterbacks, everyone was doing their job today. It is a team game."
What is clicking this year?
"It is just being in the offense for three years. We had a young team when I first came here. We had a lot of rookies and guys are understanding the offense better now, and I feel like everyone has gotten better. There is still a lot of stuff we can clean up. We didn't like how we played in the second half. We had a lot of penalties. We need to clean that up, so we can get way better."
You and RB Tevin Coleman had big nights. You are a couple of backs with big numbers.
"We have a great backfield. I feel we have one of the best in the league. As long as we stay healthy, we are going to do what we do."
What does it do psychologically when you jump out on the very first play of scrimmage like you did?
"It gives a big boost to the team. The team feels that and everyone feels the energy. When we did that, and then the defense comes out and goes three and out. It is just an amazing feeling."
DL DeForest Buckner
Coming in there were some people saying that this was going to be the best quarterback and skill players that you guys have seen this season. What does it say about this team that you were kind of able to dismantle their game plan?
"Yeah, they got a lot of talent, you know what I mean. They got a lot of weapons of the offensive side, but coming into this game we weren't really thinking about all the talent they got, all that kind of stuff. We have been playing really good, like [CB Richard] Sherman has been saying, championship defense. We just had to come in, we knew it was coming off a bye and we knew in the past we been coming out on byes a little lackadaisical and stuff. So, we just had to come in with that same energy and focus on ourselves and what we can do better on defense and it came to light on Monday night."
How rewarding is it to see DL Nick Bosa finally get to the quarterback? I know the last couple weeks he was close but he couldn't finish.
"I know. It was nice to see, you know, he's been working his tail off and obviously the stats are there, all the hits and stats that he's been getting. He just hasn't been finishing and wrapping them up. We have been talking about it. Earlier in the week, especially in Tampa, the Tampa Bay game, he probably missed about six legitimate sacks that he could have had in that game and he ended up with one, but just seeing him take the next step and finishing those rushes is really great to see."
What did you think when you see the first play on offense, they break a run off for 83 and the way they have been able to run the football? What do you think as a defender when you see that?
"I'm just excited. I get to go back out there so quick. it's more opportunity to get back on the field. For the offense to come out like that and run the ball like that, they almost ran for 300 yards, almost. And to see that get them going and get the run game started and that opens up the pass game for [QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo]. It's phenomenal to see."
DL Dee Ford
You mentioned earlier this week there is another level for the pass rush.
"There still is. That was a step up tonight, but there still is another level."
Did you feel you had a responsibility to help protect the secondary and did you feel like there was more on your shoulders?
"We don't feel like we have to protect them. We feel like as a defense, secondary and pass rushing work together hand-in-hand. That is just the mindset that we have. The secondary is on their job, and we are on our job. It works hand in hand. It is like magic."
What did you think of DL Nick Bosa's job today?
"What I love about Nick is, this is the baller in him and he said, 'there is so much more to get better at'. I am proud of him. He knows there is a lot left in the tank. If everybody stays on the same page, we got something special going."
Did you feel like this was a breakthrough game for Nick?
"No, I see what he can do. He will have a break out game. Tonight was a level up for him. I feel like he is a game breaker period. I think we are going to see a lot more of Nick."
This team lately has been built on defense. It must be rewarding to see how dominant this defense seems to be becoming?
"We still have a lot to clean up. We are chasing perfection. That is a special thing for a defense to have, that type of communication of chasing perfection. That is hard to find, we have that right now."
TE George Kittle
You had one of those blocks that sprung RB Matt Breida, what kind of confidence does that give you guys knowing how the game is going to go?
"When you establish the run early it kind of just opens up other opportunities for the play action. I mean, when we can run the ball our play action and our pass thrives off of it and then you saw that throughout the game. I know fourth quarter we definitely got to clean up, that was not a lot of pretty football, but I think the first three quarters we put together a lot of good football. You know, we just got to learn how to finish that game and not let a team hang around."
The last time this team was 4-0 was in 1990. There were some pretty good players on that team. You guys are the only other undefeated team in the league besides the Patriots. What does it feel like to be in this rarefied air?
"It's awesome. Just proud of the team. You know, like head coach Kyle Shanahan says, all that's guaranteed is that we can go 4-12. So, we've got to come back and on a short week we've got to try and win this game and get 5-0. We get about 24 hours to celebrate this victory as a team. Wednesday comes around we will be locked and loaded for the Rams."
You came out of the half and even though you were running the ball so well, you came out passing a lot, leading to your touchdown. Walk me through that final thought on the touchdown play and what kind of message you were sending by passing the ball.
"Oh, it was awesome. We can do a lot out of our 22 personnel, which is great. That's a lot on [FB Kyle] Juszczyk and a lot on our other tight ends. When we get in that, when we are able to run the ball for 280 yards, you know like I said, it sets up our pass game. That last play was a pretty simple play. I just got a through route, which is the safeties if they are split, you go down the middle and it was pretty awesome. On the motion, both safeties looked the opposite direction and pretty sure I knew it was, I mean, I thought it was a touchdown before they even said hike. [T Joe] Staley said that Shanahan, as soon as we said hike, he turned around and just called touchdown. So, that was pretty cool. You've got to ask him about that."
T Mike McGlinchey
What was your vantage point on that very first play, when you guys ran an 83-yard touchdown?
"Actually I was front side of the play and the ball was cut back. I didn't see anything until [RB Matt] Breida was about 30-yards ahead of me. I didn't even bother trying to catch up because I knew that I had field goal coming up and I didn't want to be winded for it, so I just turned around. I knew [QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo] was behind me. I think the five of us, me [OL Mike] Person, and [C/G Weston] Richburg were high stepping down the field. Hopefully we can catch that on film for a good laugh tomorrow."
When you guys are rolling in the run blocking like you have been for the first part of the season, how much fun is that? How is it like?
"It's awesome. It is how you take control of football. It is fundamental at every level that you are. I know the NFL has gotten a little pass happy here in the past couple years, but [head coach] Kyle Shanahan is a firm believer that the team goes as the run game goes. We believe in that as well. It is awesome up front as an offensive lineman to have a head coach that believes in you like that. That can scheme it to put us all in a great position for us to succeed. "
Do you see stuff from run game coordinator Mike McDaniel and Shanahan that you've never seen before? Are they dreaming up some stuff?
"That is the thing about it. I don't think that it is dreaming up anything. It is not this magic wand that they raise over. They just understand football. They understand defense. They understand how defenses are going to react to certain motions, certain things that we do, certain alignments that we have and it is just exploiting simple things that no one is going over those details."
CB Richard Sherman
On your interception, it seemed like you had eyes in the back of your head because you anticipated that Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield would throw it short. Was that because you trust the pass rush or did you see a tip?
"I knew the route, I ran it, the receiver took an extra step. Baker took an extra hitch because he was getting hit. He took too long to get the ball out. He's got to throw the ball on time and it would have been a much easier interception. He tried to put some air under it because he was throwing later than he should have. I was still able to get it."
How good was DL Nick Bosa tonight?
"Oh Bosa is always good. He's consistent and that's what you appreciate about him. The whole D-Line in general, they're dependable and that's the best ability, dependability. That's what you've got in the D-Line. You know exactly what you are going to get week in and week out and that's why you try to be consistent in the back end. You know our backers are very consistent and [LB] Fred [Warner] and [LB] Kwon [Alexander] and [LB] Dre [Greenlaw] played a good game. Those guys should get the love this year. I think you see a lot of the highlights and stuff and you see a lot of the conversations, but you don't see these guys being mentioned for Pro Bowls and All Pros. These guys are playing Pro Bowl and All-Pro football. This isn't a fluke that we are just running through these teams, you know it's not a joke, it's not a game. Other teams just struggle with these guys and we had them, I think, 31-3 and that's from Pro Bowl, All-Pro talent up front and in the secondary and in the linebacker room and I think those are the kind of conversations that need to be started and I hope our fans, when the voting opens up, they get those guys the votes they deserve. [DL] Dee [Ford], Bosa. Bosa should be a rookie in the Pro Bowl this year and it shouldn't even be close. Obviously, DeFo [DL DeForest Buckner], [DL] Arik [Armstead]. Arik is playing freaking Pro Bowl football. Our whole D-Line could be in there represented if I'm being honest. The backers, you've got to give Kwon a lot of credit, what he has brought to this defense is incredible. [S] Jaquiski [Tartt] has been quiet, nobody mentions him, and when you're not getting mentions on defense, it's not because you're playing bad. If he was playing bad I guarantee you guys would mention him. He's playing outstanding, incredible football. He's sound, he's tackling well, he's making the plays that are there and that's what you need. That's what great defense is. This wasn't a one-man performance or a one-unit performance. This was all three levels of football: special teams, offense, defense. Everything coming together and playing well."
