Kittle, McCaffrey, Jones: ‘We Need to Execute’ | 49ers

Kittle, McCaffrey, Jones: ‘We Need to Execute’ | 49ers

Howdy. Now we can go. What’s up? How tough was it to try to come back and you guys did when you guys were down 21 nothing. You guys made it a game one score game. And then what happened after that? Um what happened after that? I um I mean we started the game off with a punt, a fumble, a fourth down turnover, a touchdown, and a punt. And I’m pretty sure, like I said since I’ve been back is that our team is going to have to rely on our really good veteran offense to score a lot of points and not turn the ball over. And we didn’t really do that today. And so I think that’s that’s going to be that’s going to be the case moving forward. Our offense has to play at an incredibly high level. We had to score a lot of points. We did not turn the ball over. And I think our defense is going to get better and better throughout the week because we still have a lot of young guys. We have a lot of guys missing. But we have to help out our defense. that that’s just that’s the way the season’s going to go. Our offense has to play at a high level, efficient, not turn the ball over, score points, score in the red zone, and then we’ll win a lot of games. But if we’re not doing that, that’s going to happen. How frustrating is the the win loss win loss win loss rhythm that you guys are on right now? And how do you kind of string some together, some wins together? Um, stringing wins along stringing wins along is really fun. I will say win loss win loss is significantly better than last year when it was like loss loss loss loss loss. So, um, as long as we’re not like getting worse as a team, like I thought besides the turnovers and stuff like that, our offense still we were moving the ball. I mean, M. Jones had a hell of a football game. What was he 33 of 39, right? Yeah. I mean, the interception actually is a catch. It’s not complete pass. So, 34. Um, he said that to me. That was his idea. That’s funny. Um, but like it is frustrating. Like losing sucks. Just is what it is. I hate losing. It’s not very fun. But as long as like we’re getting better and what the Rams are the number one defense in the NFL. They’re like everyone’s favorite team in the NFL. So like was that a must-win game? I don’t know. I mean, I want to win every single game, but you know, we had we still have plenty of games in front of us that if we win those, we’ll put ourselves in position positions to succeed at the end of the season. So we just can’t let this loss turn into another loss. So, we have to figure out a way to not screw off next week and go into Arizona and have a really good game against them. Based on what you’re saying about the offense, it seems like the margin for error is pretty slim. How do you make sure guys don’t press to make sure that you’re trying to be perfect offensive? I mean, I don’t think we need to be perfect. Like, again, M. Jones has been our quarterback for how many weeks? Is our backup quarterback and he’s been playing really, really well. Um, we don’t have Ricky Pasawol. We don’t have Brandon Iuk. I missed five games. Like I just have we have a bunch of guys out there who just love playing football. I mean Kendrick Bourne had 300 yards in like back toback weeks. He had 150 yards. Like so we have guys who can make plays. Guys who love playing football. I don’t think it’s not like a pressure thing on us. It’s just hey go out there and execute man. Like you know how to do it. Everybody here like our receiving room has two 30-year-olds in it. Like we’re smart enough to go out there and play. And Jawan’s been in this offense long enough like we just got to go out there and execute. Not turn the ball over. Just do what we’re supposed to do and our offense should score a lot of points. mentioned that he thinks after a win sometimes there’s a tendency to get a little relaxed to feel like maybe you’re farther along than you are not you personally the team. Do you feel that way? No. The only thing like the the crazy thing about football is like you could have an absolutely terrible week of practice and then if you go out there and win on Sunday, who really cares about the week of practice because you won on Sunday. You could have a fantastic week of practice and it sets you up for success on Sunday, but if you lose it is it is what it is. Like I don’t think we had a bad week of practice. I think guys are moving around. I think it was difficult. You know, guys were definitely banged up. Um, you know, after backto-back, you know, long flights, stuff like that. Guys were tired a little bit, but like I felt the juice on Thursday, Friday, you know, Saturday. Guys are excited to play and I still felt the juice out there. You know, it took a little bit for our defense to, you know, really like, you know, come together, get a stop, but they’re young defense. They’re going to, it’s going to take them a little bit. Saw’s going to coach them up. I’m not It is what it is. But, you know, all my my expectations are just for the offense and to continue to um just execute and stop turning the ball over. Obviously, Mac at this point, I’m sure doesn’t really surprise you, but I mean, looking back when he first got here, did you expect M. Jones to be this good? No, I did not. I Nope, I did not. Nope. Um, it’s awesome. What a hell of a football player. I get why he was a first- round draft pick. 33 of 39, wherever the statistic was. That’s a hell of a football game. like he is playing really well. He’s not like dangerous with the football either. Like he makes good throws. He forces a couple of you know once in a while, but he’s doing a great job. Um and like our offense isn’t an easy offense for a quarterback. Like I think um besides like quarterback and tight end in my opinion are the two hardest positions in our offense just of what’s asked of you on every single play like um like learning the plays wise. Like you’re just required to do so much and Christian’s up there too cuz he does so much too. But for Mac to come in and just like take control of the offense and play at a high level consistently, it’s awesome. And it makes me really happy because I I’m a huge fan of M. Jones. He’s hilarious and I love playing football with him because you can tell he really loves the game. Give me one sec. That’s tough for you. You can go. How would you explain the burden that Christian carries and what he brings on? Did you just ask me that cuz he just walked in? I was going to ask you. That’s crazy. It wasn’t cuz he walked in, but then I was like, “Yeah, it’s all right. I’m a gangster. I’m asking.” I mean, if you look at our offense last year when Christian doesn’t play to this year when he does play and just the amount of things that we’re allowed to do because of how talented he is. Like that is that’s what Christian brings to the table. All the routes he runs, how good he is in the outside zone, how good he is at getting downhill. I mean, like just the way I know you guys like you guys all get like the 22 cutups where you can see the film. Watch how he rides the wave of an outside zone and then figures out how to cut up inside. There’s not a lot of people that can do what he does and like that helps us out tremendously. The way he gets downhill and then I mean what was it on our on our first touchdown drive? You know, he’s out there running uh an Arches route getting us a first down and then uh Brian gets to score the next play. Like he’s selfless. He does anything that we want him to do and he’s better than everybody else at doing it. That’s why he’s leading our team in receiving yards, rushing yards, touchdowns, all the above. One sec. You go next. Let him go. On your on your touchdown. Yes. Over that here. Uh did you see how close you were to going out of bounds? And then did that football mean something special to you to throw back to keep as a keeps? Um I like to keep my touchdown balls because they’re very difficult to score. I’ve learned that over the course of my career. Um and so they’re fun and my wife likes them for decorations. Um but yeah, no, I I knew that Matt kind of floated it and I was like, “Please just don’t go out of bounds.” And then I thought I was in bounds and I saw I was close enough and everything in me, you know, I’ve watched so much Kyle Yuschuk film that he dives every times and extends the football every time he’s close to the end zone even though you’re not supposed to. But I was like, “Yeah, I’m just going to go for this one.” And it turned out really, really well. It was actually funny cuz back in was it my senior year college, we were playing at Purdue and I had a very similar play on the sideline. And I went in to dive and my back foot hit out of bounds as I was entering the end zone. And so they called me out of bounds like on the 1 inch yard line and I literally was thinking of that as I was diving. I was thinking like keep your feet up which is wild flashback just nine years ago. Crazy. Grant at six and four. Do you feel like this team has what it takes to make a deep run in the playoffs or is that not your focus right now? Oo both. Yes, I do. Like I I think we’re incredibly talented and we still have we have guys on offense coming back like we do. Um, and like what our left guard we we’ve had what we had Bartch and Berford play. So like whoever figures that part out and we’ll get some solid like solidify. Yeah, let’s go with solidify. Solidity solidification. Thank you. And so like that will lock itself in. Um, and again like Mac’s been playing so well that people are like, “Oh yeah, you know, controversy stuff like this. Brock Pertie is an amazing quarterback. That’s why we paid him so much money. And then whenever we can get Ricky and you know hopefully at some point Brandon back like we have a lot of talent on this offense and so I thoroughly believe that we can score a ton of points and I really do also believe that our defense will just get a little bit better every single week. I truthfully do believe that and they’ve just been taking haymakers year round with all the injuries. But I do is such a good coach that he’s going to bump them those guys up. They’re going to get some stops and we just have to continue to score a lot of points and not turn the ball over. And our special teams is still playing really well. Like Sky Moore is about to he’s got a house one here soon. him and Brian, they’re both doing a great job. Thank you. A frustrating loss, but what can you say about Brian Robinson and the versatility in the run game being that both of you guys are out there making plays? It’s awesome. You know, we take a lot of pride in that room being able to do everything and uh you know, he brings a great energy, great change of pace to our offense. So, it’s awesome. Christian, what do you think of Jones? Jones last week completed 79%, today he completed 85% against this defense. What do you what do you think of the way he’s playing? He’s a baller, man. Yeah, he’s a baller. He commands a huddle. Um knows where to go. Has great poise and uh you know, he’s a baller. We just we got to be a little better for him. Emotionally, do you feel the same as George does that you guys have the the players to make up for this? Yeah, absolutely. I think we’ve, you know, we we can be our own worst enemy sometimes. And I think, uh, you know, if we just stay on our P’s and Q’s and continue to be efficient and not have mental errors and, you know, other things like that, we we have a chance, you know, we always have a chance. I’ve I’ve said this every week, but I think the the beauty of this league is you can win every game and you can lose every game. Um, that’s also the challenge, but yeah, we definitely have the guys. Today wasn’t our day. We got beat. you know, we got to move on uh just like we do every week and get back to the drawing board and play hard the rest of the way. Christian Dom said that you said something about after wins or this team responds better after losses than wins. What have you seen? Yeah, I think you know something about h you know having your back against the wall and uh something about having a chip on your shoulder and I think when you look at just the trajectory of this year and the adversity that we’ve faced um I’m proud of our guys’ effort and our resilience and the character in those rooms. You know, it’s it’s tough losing the guys that we have, but um we we never believe we’re out of the fight and we never will. And so I’m proud of our guys in that way. Um, so I think after losses, you know, we’re reminded that, uh, we got to get our our stuff together. Christian, um, I assume at this point it’s not a surprise that Mack plays really well. But when you think back to when he signed, did you have any idea he could be this good? I think when you watch him in OTAAS and you watch him throughout training camp, you know, and that’s a he’s made a Pro Bowl on other teams, you know, everybody he’s a, you know, hell of a quarterback and somebody that, uh, has proven it day in and day out. So, um, that’s one of the beauties of this team, man. We we do have depth, you know. Uh, Brock’s an unbelievable player, and when he goes down to have somebody like that come up is huge for us. Thank you. Thanks. All right. Obviously, you want to win the game, but individually, you completed 85% today against a pretty good defense. Are you getting more comfortable in this game? Is that why we’re seeing that percentage climb? Yeah. Um, that’s the goal, just be above that 65 or more percent. Just keep moving the ball and didn’t start fast like last week. We started pretty well. I mean, we played them the first time we we’re up 14-0. So, that wasn’t the case this time. And, um, definitely just want to keep throwing completions and let the guys do the work. And once I get rid of the ball, that’s when we can get yards. So, I know that. And, um, that’s that’s important. How much did the offensive line play a factor in that? No sacks allowed today. Yeah, that’s awesome. I mean, I know we emphasized it and they did a great job just keeping the energy throughout the game. It’s not an easy game to play in when you get down and felt like we had a chance there to at least get close to matching scores and we didn’t, but the offensive line did a great job in the run game and obviously in the pass game as well. George said a lot and he said it again today. It’s it’s on the offense that you got to put a lot of points up that you know what’s happened to the defense. I imagine this has been a message throughout the offensive unit. What kind of responsibility does that put on you as the quarterback and put on everybody to know we we got to score points here? Yeah. Um I don’t know. I don’t really think about scoring points. I think about doing my job on each play and those come with doing your job. Um if you can stack up good drives and get it down to the red zone, then you get a chance. Like obviously I want to score points, but I’m not sitting there like thinking about that. I’m thinking about doing my part. And I think that’s how we can be better. Um, when everyone, all 11 guys do their job correctly, then the points will come. And I know we want to get to that 30 30 point mark. And once you do that, you feel pretty good as an offense, like you you played well enough to give yourself a chance. So um definitely want to continue to grow in that area, but um it starts with execution um in in the process really over results. Like this, does it is it indicative of showing how competitive the NFC West is? Yeah. Um definitely it’s a really tough conference. My first year playing in it and um you know at this point we got to try and win every game we play in and um our backs are going to be against the wall again. So see what we do. What did you think of George’s touchdown catch and did it look like he was in bounds when got it? Uh I didn’t know. I asked him like I always do like the did you hit it or not and he’s like yeah I got it. So um from there we just picked our two-point play and then didn’t execute on that. but he made a great play um making the touchdown and diving and had a bunch of good catches in the game, tight coverage, they were holding them stuff. So, he did a good job. A lot of people quarterbacks in your situation would like sign a one-year contract in March and get a career reset and then, you know, see what happens. You know, create agency. You sign a two-year deal. Why was that? Um, it’s kind of a random question, but um, I think like it was what was presented to me and I wanted to be get back to having fun playing football and I think I’ve done that and today wasn’t as fun obviously, but I still believe that we have the right guys in this locker room and I wanted to get around a good organization that believes in the players and that’s coaches that believe in the players and players that believe in the players. So, I feel like we have the right guys. Um, I’ve just been really fortunate to be here this year and I want to just try and find ways to win games for us and that’s all I’m I’m here to do and the future will take care of itself. As far as the future, maybe another random question, but I mean I think you’ve established the fact that you are obviously can be a high caliber NFL starting quarterback. Have you thought much about last year? I mean, excuse me, next year and you know what that might present for you? Yeah, I mean uh not too much to be honest. uh really just try to take it day by day and I set goals out for myself this year to be ready to play when my number was called and I got to continue to do that. Um and I want to work on things and get better each day and I’ve never tried to look ahead. It’s hard not to but I never want to do that. I want to focus on each week and I know how challenging the NFL is just having played for a couple of years and feel like we have a young team that needs leadership right now and my goal is to lead them and and get ready for Arizona. What kind of impact did Nick Bosa and Fred Warner being in the locker room? Sorry, what did you say? Nick Bosa and Fred Warner in the locker room. What kind of impact did it have? Oh yeah, that was awesome just to see those guys and um had a few injuries here and and guys are stepping up, but just to have their presence and seeing them before the game just dapping them up and saying what’s up just always lifts the vibes. And I know they want to be out there and they obviously can’t, but they’re doing everything they can to get healthy and um be there for the young players on our team. Mac, was do the did the Rams do anything different today? It seemed like they had a lot of a lot of two deep safety looks. Yeah. Was that was that more than the first time around? Um, a little bit. I mean, I think that was kind of their plan. They knew they have a great offense and um the first game they just spun the dial on us and played a bunch of different coverages, but yeah, this this time was definitely more split safety shell and keep it in front of them, just make us drive it. And it’s kind of been the theme here. Um, we’ve played a lot of defenses like that. So, they’re really good team and they just had our number today, but wasn’t our day and um doesn’t mean it can’t be our day soon. You mentioned the need for leadership on this young team, especially on defense without Fred and Nick. Is that a process from as far as you can tell like that is going to naturally take time where you have to figure out who to look to without two big talents and leaders on that side? Yeah, I think um this happens with every team, right? you might lose somebody um that’s a leader and the person that’s in that role has to step up and do their job really well. But um I I believe that it’s all done during the week and you put all the work in and the haze in the barn and once you go out there you should feel confident and whoever leads on game day that’s great but um really it comes throughout the week as well and I feel like we have good guys on our team that are stepping up doing that. Um and for me it’s about doing my job and coming to work every day positive and um I feel like that’s how I lead. I’m not going to change and I don’t think anybody else should change either. On the play before the interception, it was nullified by offsetting penalties, but looked like verse decked you pretty good. Yeah. Where did he get you? Um I don’t know. I just thought it was a bang bang play, but it’s good hit. Um didn’t didn’t affect anything. So, uh yeah, obviously wish we got that there and then the next play wouldn’t have happened. All right, thanks. Thank you. [Music]

#49ers #nfl

San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle, RB Christian McCaffrey, and QB Mac Jones spoke with the media following the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, addressed the impact of defensive injuries, and emphasized the importance of execution moving forward.

Chapters:
0:00 TE George Kittle
8:41 RB Christian McCaffrey
11:14 QB Mac Jones

Tickets, news, roster, schedule, and more: https://www.49ers.com/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/49ers/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@49ers
Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/49ers
Follow us on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@49ers
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SANFRANCISCO49ERS/
Download the App: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id395859078?mt=8

© 2025 Forty Niners Football Company LLC