49ers players describe exhilarating scene watching Cards beat Eagles

49ers players describe exhilarating scene watching Cards beat Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LANDOVER, Md. — It was not the usual postgame protocol after 49ers players left the field following their 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday at FedExField.

Usually, the entire group gathers in the locker room for coach Kyle Shanahan’s postgame speech and a breakdown of the game -- but not this time.

Half of the team huddled together surrounding the small television Shanahan’s changing room. Another group gathered in a hallway around another screen in the coaches area as the seconds ticked down on a very close game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Then, as the game clock wound down to 0:00 with the Cardinals emerging as the victors, elated cheering and yelling could be heard through the doors of the 49ers' locker room and into the halls of FedExField. The 49ers' NFC West foe had just helped them lock in the NFC' No. 1 playoff seed, giving them a first round bye and home-field advantage.

“It was a lot of fun,” Nick Bosa said after the game. “We came in here, and there’s a little TV in here. Everyone was on top of each other trying to watch. The Cardinals helped us out a lot this year.”

Charvarius Ward, who had a momentum-changing interception in San Francisco's win, said it was not without a little bit of nerves between him and his teammates that they watched the final seconds of the Cardinals' win play out.

“Everyone was bunched up trying to watch the game,” Ward said. “It was 35-31, with 35 seconds left and we were just praying the Cardinals didn’t blow it. Once they threw the Hail Mary and they picked it off, we were ecstatic. It was a hell of a feeling.”

George Kittle, who notched his third career 1,000-yard season in the win, shared that getting an extra week of rest isn’t the only thing he is thankful for.

“It was a cool moment, and I’m glad Kyle let us watch,” Kittle said. “We waited to break it down until after that. Shout-out to the Cardinals, and I’m really happy for their coach [Jonathan Gannon]. That’s a pretty fun one to leave [the Eagles] and come back and get a dub and to put up 35.”

One player who might need a little more rest after the win in over the Commanders is Christian McCaffrey, who sat out much of the second half after sustaining a calf injury.

“That means the world, so shout out to the Cardinals,” McCaffrey said. “That was huge. We all need it, I need it. Just take a breath and get everything back to normal. Came back in here and [was] like, 'It’s tied up? What the heck?' "

The 49ers have been on the short end of the NFL’s scheduling in 2023, playing four teams after they had a bye week and two Thursday night games, all while racking up a lot of air miles playing AFC North and NFC East this season.

Dre Greenlaw was relieved and overjoyed knowing that in the playoffs, the 49ers finally will have a schedule -- and home-field -- advantage.

“That was huge,” Greenlaw said. “For Arizona to get the win, for us to get the win, it was big. A lot more rest time.”

The 49ers head back to the Bay Area to prepare for their final regular-season contest as they welcome the Los Angeles Rams to Levi's Stadium in Week 18.

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