Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir was on the field as quarterback Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks orchestrated a game-winning drive in the final seconds of Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers. It marked another heartbreaking fourth-quarter collapse, leaving the 49ers with a 5-5 record on the season.
Lenoir joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Tuesday morning and was asked about the team's takeaways from the loss, particularly the defense's performance during that final drive. The cornerback, who signed a massive contract extension last week, took responsibility for the loss, saying the defeat came down to the defense's failure to close the game.
"Really, just finishing," Lenoir said about the team's takeaway from the late-game collapse. "The whole world watching that game was looking at us (the defense) to finish. So, that one kind of cut all of us deep because we know how good we are, and we know the type of team we are, and we know the type of team we want to be.
"So, just finishing that game to where the offense gave us enough points to win the game. So we put that on us."
On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan shared his thoughts on the team's mood after the latest defeat.
"I think we were just pissed off from yesterday," Shanahan said. "That was a tough loss. We had every chance to win it, and we didn't get it done."
Lenoir agreed with his coach's description of the mood inside the building this week.
"I can feel everyone pissed off because every [division] game that we lost this year, we've been leading in the fourth [quarter], and we just don't finish," Lenoir said. "So, it's kind of that urge of now we gotta really finish this. It's really time to come together and really put teams to bed when we got to."
Looking ahead, the 49ers face a challenging stretch of back-to-back road games. They'll travel to Lambeau Field this weekend to face the Green Bay Packers, followed by a trip to Highmark Stadium to take on the Buffalo Bills.
When asked about playing in cold weather conditions in Green Bay, Lenoir responded confidently, saying, "Ain't no such thing as bad weather. Just soft people. The last time I've been to Green Bay, I won."
You can listen to Lenoir's full interview below.
