Dan Campbell postgame media availability | 2023 NFC Championship: Lions vs. 49ers
Summary
TLDRThe coach reflects on his team's crushing NFC Championship loss, crediting the opponent for making plays while expressing pride in his own team's fight. He takes accountability for fateful 4th down calls, laments uncharacteristic mistakes, and acknowledges the challenge ahead to regroup and return. The coach stresses the difficulty of losses like these, saying it feels like getting your heart ripped out. He aims to appreciate accomplishments while grappling with devastation, knowing the team dynamics will change and admitting only the Super Bowl winner feels truly satisfied.
Takeaways
- 😊 Gave credit to the 49ers for making plays and being a great team
- 😔 Expressed disappointment in the loss and said it was hard for the team
- 😠 Took responsibility for the 4th down play calls that didn't work out
- 😇 Said the loss was uncharacteristic and they couldn't get momentum back
- 😢 Said the loss feels like getting your heart ripped out
- 🚫 Said they didn't convert on critical 4th downs in the 2nd half
- 😤 Said the 49ers started making plays and they couldn't counter
- 🤔 Admitted the 49ers' experience may have been a factor
- 😕 Said the locker room is very disappointed after the loss
- 🙂 Still believes in the team and players despite the difficult loss
Q & A
What does Shanahan credit the 49ers' win to?
-Shanahan credits the 49ers' win to his players making plays when needed. He says they have lived through and experienced big moments which helped them close out the game.
How does McVay view the Rams' performance and what happened in the second half?
-McVay says the Rams' performance in the second half was very uncharacteristic of them. He can't pinpoint what exactly went wrong but says they normally are able to regain momentum, which they couldn't do this time.
What was McVay's thinking behind going for it on 4th down twice?
-McVay felt confident about converting on 4th down to keep momentum and prevent the 49ers from running the clock down further. In hindsight he understands the scrutiny but doesn't regret the decisions.
What does McVay say is the reality of trying to get back to the NFC Championship game next year?
-McVay says it will be twice as hard to get back to the NFC Championship game next year. He notes that the division will be loaded with talent and every opponent will be gunning for the Rams.
What is McVay's message to Fuller about the touchdown he gave up?
-McVay tells Fuller that mistakes happen but to keep fighting on every play and make the opponents work for everything. He doesn't want players who look scared against tough matchups.
What does McVay say is necessary for success along with talent and good coaching?
-McVay believes there needs to be chemistry, teamwork, unselfishness, and no egos along with talent and coaching to find success. Otherwise a team will quickly become average.
How does McVay describe the locker room atmosphere after the loss?
-McVay says the locker room is very disappointed and describes it as feeling like your heart was ripped out. He reiterates that no one is happy with how things ended.
Does McVay think the 49ers' experience played a factor in the second half?
-McVay says it's hard for him to believe the 49ers having more experience played a big role since the Rams played in many big games this season too. But he can't completely dispute it having an impact.
What did McVay expect the 49ers to do in the second half?
-McVay expected the 49ers to make some plays in the second half. He knew they would make a run at some point, it was just a matter of the Rams answering back which they couldn't do.
How does McVay summarize the loss and the season?
-McVay feels that without winning the Super Bowl, the Rams' season will leave them feeling like every other non-Super Bowl team - with a pretty bad taste in their mouths despite accomplishments.
Outlines
😞 Answering questions about the difficult playoff loss
Shanahan discusses the disappointment of the loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game. He credits the 49ers for making plays to win while acknowledging his team's mistakes and inability to rebound. He takes responsibility for the failed 4th down attempts while defending his decisions.
😔 Describing the team's somber locker room mood
Shanahan talks about the extreme disappointment in the locker room after blowing the early lead and losing a chance to go to the Super Bowl. He emphasizes the challenge of rebounding from such a crushing loss.
😟 On not capitalizing on early momentum
Shanahan analyzes his team's inability to counter the 49ers' plays in the 3rd and 4th quarters after a strong first half. He suggests experience may have played a factor for the 49ers but doesn't want to believe that fully explains his team's struggles.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Loss
💡Mistakes
💡Opponent
💡Decisions
💡Momentum
💡Disappointment
💡Challenge
💡Experience
💡Respect
💡Regroup
Highlights
Shanahan is a hell of a coach and the 49ers made the plays to win
It's hard when you lose that way, it feels like you get your heart ripped out
I'm proud of this group and I'll go anywhere with them
We did some really good things but today we didn't do enough
I felt really good about converting the 4th downs to get momentum back
It's been very uncharacteristic of us to not get our momentum back
We've always been able to counter back and we just couldn't do it
You have to live getting your heart ripped out to learn the lesson
It'll be twice as hard getting back here next year
You don't know which play will make the difference until you live it
The locker room is very disappointed, it feels like getting your heart ripped out
The roster and coaches will likely look quite different next year
Everything's got to be right - talent, compatibility, chemistry - or you'll become average quickly
We knew SF was going to make plays, you just have to answer back and we weren't able to
Unless you're the Super Bowl winner, you have a pretty bad taste in your mouth
Transcripts
um give those guys you know a lot of
credit we knew they wouldn't go away and
uh you know they made the plays um today
you know coach Shanahan's a hell of a
coach that's a team that uh you know
they they've done it they lived it and
they made the plays so credit to them
um I'm really I'm really proud of all
all these guys I am I mean and uh it's
hard when you lose that
way um it's
hard you know you feel like you get your
heart ripped out so um but I'm proud of
that group and I'll go anywhere with
that group and uh you wish you could
keep it all together but that's not the
reality
so
um you know we did some really good
things but today we we didn't do enough
and
uh and it's tough It's
questions Dan you um you had two fourth
down decision decisions that were
critical in the the second half neither
one was were what two fourth down
decisions that were critical in the
second half neither one was converted um
you know particularly the second one why
why not take a field goal there and
maybe stem the bleeding a little bit
yeah I just felt really good about us
converting and uh getting our momentum
and and not letting them play long ball
um you know they were bleeding the clock
out that's what they do um and I wanted
to get the upper hand back um um you
know and it's easy hindsight and I get
it you know um I get
that
but I don't regret those decisions and
that's hard you know it's hard because
you know they didn't we didn't come
through it wasn't able to to work out
but I just I don't I don't and I
understand the scrutiny I'll get that's
part of the gig man
um but you know we just just didn't work
go Dan how do you um process what
happened in the second half you know
some of the self-inflicted mistakes I
guess that didn't seem to you know come
up much of the year for you yeah you
know it's been it's been very
uncharacteristic of us we've always been
able to to get our momentum back and U
it's hard to to say I you know I
honestly right now I can't put my finger
on that that's not like us um you know
we had plays to be made that we just
didn't make we Norm do and you know some
of the things third quarter we came out
I thought we did a really good job
defensively man held them to three and
then got the ball back moved it you know
and um but we just couldn't we just
couldn't quite make those plays and so
third quarter you know we've been in
there we've been there before um and so
fourth quarter you're you feel like
we're going to get it back and we just
couldn't quite get over the hump and
uh you know and we just that hasn't been
us all year year and it showed up today
the worst
time Dan uh you did a lot of good things
in the first half of this game um you
got this far I don't know if a lot of
people picked you to come to the NFC
title game but disappointing end but
what do you what do you learn from this
experience I'm sure you hope to get back
here you expect to get back here but
what do you learn from this experience
of making it this far to this game well
you know I think one of the things you
always tell everybody who's never been
here particularly the young
players is um you don't know which play
is going to make the difference which
one you say that every game but when you
get in there with a you
know a heavyweight like Sam Fran man um
the it is the difference um and
sometimes you can only say so much you
got to live it unfortunately you got to
get your heart ripped out which we did
and it's a lesson learn and look I told
those guys this may have been all shot
do I think that no do I believe that no
however I I know how hard it is to get
here I I'm well aware and it'll be it's
going to be twice as hard to get back to
this point next year than it was this
year that's that's the reality and if we
don't have the same hunger and the same
work which is a whole another thing once
we get the offseason um then we got no
shot of getting back here I don't care
how much better we get or what we add or
what we dra it's irrelevant um it's
going to be tough everybody in our
division is gonna be loaded back up and
uh you know you're not hiding from
anybody anymore everybody's gonna want a
piece of you and uh which is fine you
know which is fine but um so it's hard
you want to make the most of every
opportunity and we we had an opportunity
and we just couldn't close it out it's
it does it stings
stings Dan to to go from that high of
the 24 s halftime lead to to how it
ended um what is your locker room like
right now it it I'm sure you weren't
celebrating at halftime but you
obviously were feeling very good the
level of crushing I guess for your
players yeah it's tough it's tough yeah
I mean nobody's
happy um you know they're they're very
disappointed you know it's disappointing
and I think I said it
pretty pretty vividly it's like getting
your heart ripped out and um it's hard
you know it's hard and no we didn't come
in and half to nobody we were doing back
flips like all right we got this thing
one they know better we all know better
we talked about it we knew they were
going to make a run in the second half
we talked about it we knew we were going
to have to weather a storm in the second
half and uh so when they started to make
a push it no we weren't surprised we
just couldn't counter back and we've
always been able to counter back we just
couldn't quite do it in this
one what is the message um both in the
moment and big picture to a player like
kindall who is you know on the wrong
side of a play like that on the IU
catch Listen what we talked about is man
you just you you fight every play man
and you make them earn um everything
they get he was in phase and uh he
competed and it didn't work out and you
know what that's life of a cornerback
it's life of a quarterback as well those
two positions and uh listen it happens
and you you go back for the next and
long term you know what that that won't
be the next time that happens
unfortunately it's every corner gets put
on an island at different times and uh
and so you just keep going you just keep
fighting and that's what that's what I
want and that's what I'm looking for
what I don't want is a player who looks
scared and doesn't uh get up there and
Challenge and uh but a guy who will go
up there and mix it up and is afraid of
who he's lined up over um you know what
give up play Give Up play nobody feels
good about it sir player done but but I
know I know they're
fighting you mentioned it a little bit
in your opening comments Dan um there's
a lot of emotions at the end of a game
but particularly at the end of the
season can you just expand a little bit
more and just knowing that the locker
room your coaching staff might look you
know quite a bit different that the I
guess the the challenge of the finale of
that yeah I mean it's it's hard um you
know everything that you I I'm a firm
believer in everything's got to be
everything's got to be right and
everybody just thinks that it's just
Talent or it's just coach ability and
you know the more Talent you get and the
just the better coaches or the more
well-known then you're just
automatically going to be good and
that's not the truth at all it's not
does it help yeah it helps as long as
they are compatible and there is a
chemistry and there is teamwork and
there's an unselfishness and there's and
you you leave the egos
at home and uh that's
hard it's hard to do that and so you set
it up well now it's just going to look
different and it's got to be right again
it's got to be right some of the players
potentially some of the
coaches man we got to start over and we
got to find the right mix the right
balance and uh it's got to be right
because otherwise you don't I I just I'm
a firm believer you don't have a chance
if it's not you'll become average
quickly it's
probably it's probably too early in the
uh you know the moment right after a
game like this but at what point do you
think if at all you'll be able to
appreciate what you guys accomplished
this season getting here the the amount
of success you had leading up to tonight
that's tough um and I I've said that
word a lot tonight
um and I just I hate it I should not you
know you're asking me right now and I
feel like we're no different any body
else you know and that's what unless
you're the Super Bowl winner that's what
this feels like it's
hard and uh we did accomplish a lot but
there's just you know there's a piece in
me that I just feel like
we're you
know a little bit like every everybody
else who didn't make it you know and
everybody else who lost unless you're
San Francisco and who won the other one
I don't even know KC then you you got a
pretty bad taste in your
mouth and um it's what's great about
this sport what's great about the game
it's what's great about the tournament
and it's also what just crushes
you Dan the coming out halftime you get
the a catch and the fumble that like a
double gut punch you could never see
coming no I mean look we knew they were
going to make a play I mean you'd like
to believe that it's not going to be
that but you know I
don't um we knew they were going to make
some plays you know it was it was just a
matter of time and I don't care how good
you're playing you know auk's a good
player and pretty does a good job of
giving those guys a chance to make plays
KD's a good player Debo's a good play so
at some point you knew something was
going to happen you just you got to be
able to answer back and you got to be
able to contain it and and we weren't
able to do
that Dan uh you mentioned the
heavyweights like San Francisco you
referred to them that way do you think
in the second half the fact that they
have been there before they played there
before and your team as a team even
though you had some guys who been there
before as a team had not did that start
to come into play especially when things
start swirling around and going against
you look I you know it's hard to I can't
dispute that but it's hard for me to
believe that because we've been in
really big games all year and I know
it's not the NFC championship game but
we've been in two playoff games we've
been in plenty of Prime Time games Big
Time opponents where we've been able to
you know we're I just we're always able
to get the momentum back and and we just
we couldn't do it today you know and
that's what it so I I don't want to
believe that but the same token it's
there and we just didn't quite make
those
plays
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