Team Notes week 21 2022

After the 49ers beat the Cowboys 19-12 on Sunday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team is "not really reflecting" on what they've accomplished so far this season because they know where they are in the schedule.

They have a date with the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game and Shanahan said that beating Dallas is fun for a bit, but that the message in the locker room is "now let's move on to the next one." Shanahan noted that "you thought Philly would be the last team right here" because they've been as good as anyone in the conference all year and said the 49ers will be up for the challenge.

Tight end George Kittle went even further and said that the team is embracing the chance to go into hostile surroundings with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

"It's exactly where you want to be, right?" Kittle said, via 49ersWebzone.com. "At the start of the year, back in OTAs, all you're doing is preparing for the Super Bowl. To be one step away from that, it's awesome. To go into Philly, which is a fantastic atmosphere. ... It's going to be wonderful. I know how much the fans love the opposing team, and all the fans, so it's going to really fun. It's going to be cold and violent, and it's going to be a blast."

Kittle, of course, is a big reason the 49ers find themselves preparing for a trip to Philly this weekend.

In desperate need of a spark for an offense that for most of the first three quarters had been unable to solve the Cowboys' defense, the 49ers finally got exactly what they needed from their start tight end, who wasn't really a factor in the playcall.

With 5:19 left in the third quarter of a tie playoff game on Sunday, quarterback Brock Purdy rolled to his left with the intent to hit wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on a crossing route. If that wasn't there, the ball was supposed to go to wideout Deebo Samuel farther down the left side.

And if that wasn't available, Purdy was supposed to find fullback Kyle Juszczyk in the flat.

With none of those options open, Purdy kept his eyes downfield, set his feet and saw Kittle streaking down the middle. Kittle waved his right hand at Purdy, who spotted him and threw it just in front of his tight end.

Kittle reached out with his right hand and deflected the ball back to himself, it bounced off his face mask and he reached back out with both hands to haul it in before it hit the ground and Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs could deliver a big hit.

After the game, Purdy joked that it seemed Kittle was bobbling the ball for about 10 seconds.

That was by design, according to Kittle.

"I was just trying to be dramatic," Kittle said, laughing. "It was just for TV. I was trying to be a little dramatic, get the ratings up. That's what we're here for."

The play went for 30 yards and led to the Niners' only touchdown of the game eight plays later.

"That was unbelievable," Christian McCaffrey said. "That was one of the best catches I've ever seen. That's a special player doing special things. And plays like that definitely boost momentum."

It was exactly the jump-start the 49ers needed at a crucial moment, as McCaffrey would punch in a 2-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to provide the winning points in a hard-fought contest.

It was the Niners' 12th consecutive win and punched their ticket to a third NFC Championship Game appearance in four seasons.

For Kittle, it was the biggest highlight of his best career playoff performance. He finished with five catches on as many targets for 95 yards, the most yards by a Niners tight end in a playoff game since Vernon Davis had 104 in Super Bowl XLVII during the 2012 campaign and the most for Kittle in the postseason, surpassing the 63 he had in a divisional round win against the Green Bay Packers last year.

As ESPN.com's Nick Waggoner notes, Kittle and Purdy have had a strong chemistry since Purdy took over as the starter in Week 14.

In those seven games, Kittle has 29 receptions for 425 yards and seven touchdowns.

Given that connection, it was unsurprising that his biggest play of the day came on a play in which he wasn't even supposed to be an option.

"I'm not in the read at all," Kittle said. "Brock is a good quarterback who keeps his eyes up when the play is falling apart, and his No. 1 and his No. 2 wasn't open, so for him to look back inside to see a white glove hand fly up and give me a shot at the ball, that's just really good quarterback play."

Purdy faced the toughest test of his young career against a Dallas defense that led the NFL in quarterback pressure percentage this season, and he was pressured 14 times, the most of his young NFL career.

On those 14 dropbacks, Purdy was 3-of-10 for 24 yards and sacked twice. But when Purdy had time, he was 16-of-19 for 190 yards. Most important, Purdy and the offense did not turn the ball over, as San Francisco's lone giveaway came on a fumbled punt return.

Before this season, there had never been a rookie quarterback to throw for 200-plus yards and have no interceptions in a playoff game. Purdy did it Sunday for the second time in as many weeks. And the Niners had two takeaways as they improved to 15-0 on the season when winning the turnover battle.

"Playoff football, any game, really, in the NFL, you can't afford to be throwing the ball up or fumbling or anything like that, obviously," Purdy said. "But when so much is on the line and you know everyone is going to be playing their best football, every drive and every moment matters."

Against the Eagles next week, Purdy will become the fifth rookie quarterback in NFL history to start a conference championship game, joining Shaun King, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez. Purdy, Flacco and Sanchez are the only rookie signal-callers to win multiple playoff starts.

With each passing week, Purdy's teammates continue to marvel at how poised the final pick of the 2022 NFL draft has been in key moments.

"You see it every day with the way he prepares, and you see it in practice and games," McCaffrey said. "He's just been an impressive guy to be around in the huddle. So yeah, I'm not shocked anymore. It's just who he is now."

The tests won't get any easier for Purdy and the Niners against a Philadelphia team that led the league in sacks and opponent yards per play.

That's why Shanahan and the rest of his squad were quick to turn the page after Sunday's triumph.

"We've been here before," Shanahan said. "It's very hard to get here. We're not really reflecting on anything yet. We've got a big game this week, and that's not our ultimate goal, either. So, in order to do that, we've got to make sure we take care of business."

On the injury front. ... The 49ers have a few injuries to deal with, but Shanahan is not anticipating they'll keep players off the field for Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

Notably, McCaffrey is dealing with a calf contusion and is considered day-to-day, Shanahan said via multiple reporters.

But, Shanahan said McCaffrey should play.

McCaffrey played 67 percent of San Francisco's offensive snaps, recording 10 carries for 35 yards with the aforementioned touchdown. He also caught six passes for 22 yards.

In the blowout victory over the Seahawks in the wild-card round, McCaffrey had 119 yards on 15 carries with two catches for 17 yards with a TD.

Shanahan also noted that running back Elijah Mitchell is dealing with a groin injury and defensive lineman Charles Omenihu has an oblique injury.

All of the players are considered day-to-day and are expected to play on Sunday. But their practice statuses will be worth monitoring throughout the week. ...

Also worth noting. ... Though quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is steadily recovering from his broken foot, the 49ers he's not going to replace Purdy as the starting quarterback in what little remains of the 2022 postseason.

But it's still possible that Garoppolo could be an option to back up Purdy if the 49ers were to make it to Super Bowl LVII.

Shanahan said something similar last week.

But he reiterated the point on Monday, saying that Garoppolo was unlikely to be available for the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles. The quarterback did get back on the field for some light week late last week.

"X-ray tomorrow to see how things are going," Shanahan said, via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. "I'd be very surprised if he was out there this week."

Garoppolo has been out since suffering the foot injury against the Dolphins in Week 13. He completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,437 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Purdy has put up really solid numbers, going 5-0 as a starter in 2022. He completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns and four INTs in his nine games with five starts. ...

Finally. ... The 49ers have an off-field issue to contend with, as they prepare for their biggest on-field moment of the year.

Via the Bay Area News Group, defensive lineman Charles Omenihu was arrested on Monday afternoon. He faces allegations of suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence.

Police reportedly were called to Omenihu's home at 4:39 p.m. local time. A woman told the responding officers that Omenihu is her boyfriend, and that he "pushed her to the ground during an argument."

She complained of arm pain, but there were no visible physical injuries observed. She declined medical treatment.

A fifth-round pick of the Texans in 2019, Omenihu was traded to the 49ers in 2021. He appeared in all 17 regular-season games, with three starts. He had 4.5 sacks.

He had two sacks and a forced fumble in the wild-card win over the Seahawks.

According to Profootballtalk.com, the situation wouldn't result in a league-imposed suspension until after the criminal case is concluded, at the earliest. It's also unlikely that Omenihu would be placed on paid leave.

Whether the team decides not to activate him for the NFC Championship game is a different matter. ...

You can access complete stats for the 49ers Divisional Playoff win via our exclusive Fantasy BoxScore.

DEPTH CHART
QBs: Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold, Brandon Allen
RBs: Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Kyle Juszczyk
WRs: Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud, Ronnie Bell, Danny Gray
TEs: George Kittle, Charlie Woerner, Brayden Willis, Ross Dwelley, Cameron Latu