The talk surrounding Dallas's mishaps in Sunday's wild-card loss to the the 49ers has filled Monday's headlines, but one fourth-quarter blunder nearly cost San Francisco its victory.
Leading 23–17 with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the 49ers tried to execute a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Dallas 38-yard line that would have effectively ended the game. However, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo didn't allow offensive lineman Trent Williams enough time to get set as he moved down the line.
The penalty led to a 49ers subsequent punt, allowing the Cowboys to take over before their ill-fated and controversial final drive.
After the game, when asked for an explanation, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Garoppolo may have been too eager with the chance to end the game.
“We just shifted to an unbalanced [formation],” Shanahan said per NBC Sports Bay Area. “It was on the silent count and it was quarterback sneak all the way, but Jimmy got really excited because of the look. Didn’t let Trent get set. He’s got to let him get set.”
“It ended up not being a problem though, would have been a struggle to answer that one if it was.”
When told what his coach said, Garoppolo laughed off Shanahan's brutal honesty.
“Kyle said that?” Garoppolo said. “Yeah, I mean that’s pretty much what happened.”
Shanahan also said Garoppolo sprained his shoulder in the second quarter on Sunday, but that the quarterback should be able to practice this week.
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