49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan on what the Win Meant for C.J. Beathard
"I think C.J. played awesome. He made some plays in the pass game, he did a good job on the zone reads – I'm not sure how many we called but all of his decision making was perfect on it. When he did pull it he got a number of yards. Just his leadership out there, the way the guys gravitated to him. You could feel it during the week at practice. He came in Wednesday when he first got his reps just so ready to go. I think you could tell how hard they played for him too. I was impressed with C.J. and very happy for him today."
Shanahan on the 49ers Defensive Performance in Week 16
"They had an unbelievable game. They kept him (Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray) contained most of the game. That was our biggest challenge. We felt like that's what got away from us in Week 1 the first time we played them. We kept him contained most of the game and he got away there in the fourth quarter. He definitely did it sometimes today which he always is going to. I thought our defense took away those fourth down conversions – which Kyler is extremely hard to stop on those – but take those away it was a hell of a game."
Shanahan on George Kittle's Leadership on the Sideline and in Practice
"Everyone sees on the field what he means to us. How good of a player he is in the run game and in the pass game. Just having Kittle at practice is different. We have guys like that that affect our team that way. When Deebo Samuel is out there our team is very similar. It's different. Just having Jimmy Garoppolo out there at practice this week in his uniform, being a part of it. There's a different buzz in the air. When you lose a lot of those guys it's tough. Guys come in, they step up, they give all they can. But the inspiration of guys who've done it before and who are at the top of their game. Kittle, we knew just getting him a part of us and dressing him out today would be able to help a ton. But just what he was able to do even statistically in the pass game and always in the run game. I can't say enough about George."
49ers Quarterback C.J. Beathard on What the Team's Week 16 Win Means to Him
"It means more than I can really put into words. Everything that I've been through the last year and it being the year anniversary of my brother passing, it's just one of those things you can't really put into words other than it's just God. You can't write a script any (better). I couldn't have hand-picked it to go the way it did, so I just put my faith in God. I kind of knew going into it – I think the guys, just feeling the vibe of the locker room, the vibe at practice. Guys just going out there with nothing to lose, really inspiring each other. It was really awesome this week."
Beathard on the Mood in Practices This Week
"I just felt it this week in general as an offense, and as a defense. Just the way guys came out to practice this week, with everything that we've been through. With it being Christmas, it was a weird week practice-wise, a bunch of stuff was moved around. A lot of guys were sitting in hotel rooms by themselves during Christmas and not with their families. I just credit all these guys on how they came out here today. They inspire me more than anything. It's just awesome. Guys like George Kittle, we're out of the playoffs, he doesn't necessarily have to come back. But the fact that he was fighting to come back and wanted to come back and all week was like, 'I can't wait to be out there with you. We've been together for nine years.' So it was pretty cool."
49ers Tight End George Kittle on C.J. Beathard's Week 16 Performance
"He was incredible. I think I said earlier in the week that C.J. was going to play inspired and was going to be relentless. He did that today. He made play after play. Overall, I think C.J. handled himself incredible out there and it was just really fun to play Saturday football with my brother again."
49ers Linebacker Fred Warner on Coming Out Strong in Week 16 Even Though the 49ers are Out of the Playoffs
"I'm just super proud of everyone. It was a full team effort. Obviously it's never perfect, there were a lot of areas we could have cleaned up, but to have a guy like C.J. come in and lead the group and lead that offense. And the way the defense responded. We ended up plus one, I think. We rose to the challenge. This group is so tight knit, it's like a family, a true brotherhood. I don't know if you see that a lot in the league and it just means the world to be able to come out even though we don't have anything to play for. We're out of the playoffs, but it's still a division game. We're all competitors. I told the guys, 'The best team for 60 minutes, it doesn't matter what has gone on this entire season, the best team for 60 minutes was going to win the ball game.' And I think, obviously, we were the better team."
Warner on the Defense Forcing Turnovers in Week 16
"Every week we talk about it and we have it on our mind that we want to get the football. The last few weeks we haven't been able to do that. I think that's where we were lacking and we needed to be better at it. We just had it on our mind today."
Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury on the 49ers Defensive Performance
"They had some guys out, but those other guys stepped up and were really physical. I thought they were phenomenal defensively, with their effort and execution."
Kingsbury on the 49ers Run Game
"Kyle (Shanahan) does a tremendous job there. Whoever they're playing at back seems to play at a high level. I thought they executed well. We didn't play as well as we needed to defensively. I wanted to try and put it more on Beathard, obviously. He hadn't started a lot of games in this league, but we weren't able to do that. Jeff Wilson Jr. had a bunch of big runs, so that made it tough."
Kingsbury on Quarterback Kyler Murray's Injury
"Hurt his leg, so he's getting examined right now. I'll figure that out once I leave here."
Cardinals Offensive Lineman D.J. Humphries on the Outcome of the Week 16 Contest
"I felt like we were pretty ready. I felt like we had a good week of practice. It was definitely a surprise to see it turn out like that."
