The San Francisco 49ers earned their first win of the season Sunday afternoon against the Seattle Seahawks, but after losing starting quarterback Trey Lance to serious injury, the tone of the postgame press conference had a very different feel.
Lance was carted off the field after suffering a broken ankle that required the 49ers’ prized young quarterback to undergo season-ending surgery. The injury was sustained on a play designed for Lance to run up the middle, called by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Following the game, Shanahan surely expected to be asked about the decision, but anticipating the question wasn’t enough to keep the 49ers’ head coach from getting a little testy with reporters during his press conference.
“Anytime a guy gets hurt I wish I didn’t call that. That’s something we were going to do & something we would continue to do. That’s a football play we believe in & something that gives him a chance to be real successful in this league.”
Shanahan addressed running Trey inside pic.twitter.com/La06J0L5xW
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 19, 2022
“Anytime a guy gets hurt, I wish I didn’t call that,” Shanahan said in response to a question about whether he second guessed his play call. “But no, that’s something we were gonna do. And something we’ll continue to do. It’s a football play we believe in and something that gives him a chance to be real successful in this league.”
But after he was pressed on the play call for a third time during the first few minutes of his press conference, Shanahan appeared to get a little frustrated with the reporters’ line of questioning.
“Do you guys watch other teams in this league? Buffalo does it all the time w/their QB…It’s part of football & it’s unfortunate he hurt his ankle on it. It’s a very normal ran play. You guys should watch some other ppl.”
Kyle bristled at notion that he put Trey in harms way pic.twitter.com/344nlkq5ue
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 19, 2022
“Didn’t I just answer that…Do you guys watch other teams in this league? Buffalo does it all the time, with their quarterback,” Shanahan said referring to Bills quarterback Josh Allen. “It’s a pretty normal play. It’s part of football and it’s unfortunate that he hurt his ankle on it. But it’s a very normal play. You guys should watch some other people.”
Obviously, the reporters watch other teams in the NFL and are aware of the tendency at which Buffalo calls designed run plays for Allen. But those same reporters are also aware that Lance, who is smaller than Allen, injured his knee while rushing the ball 16 times in his first start last season. They’re also aware that Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury while on a torrid rushing pace to start his sophomore year, so questioning the head coach on that play-calling decision seems well within bounds.
