Coming off a solid 23-19 win over the Eagles, head coach Kyle Shanahan made a playful plea to the NFL. After punching their ticket to the NFC Divisional Round, the San Francisco 49ers are slated to clash with the NFC West champions, the Seattle Seahawks. But the Niners head coach hasn’t moved past the painful Week 18 loss to them and offered a way that he believes could save them from meeting the same fate.

“I know we can play better than (Week 18),” he said via NFL reporter Mike Garafalo’s post on X. “Glad we’ve got another shot. … If the NFL is cool and understanding, they’ll make it Sunday.”

In his remarks, Shanahan opened up about their brutal 13-3 loss to the Seahawks in the regular-season finale. San Francisco has just edged out the Eagles and is heading to Lumen Field to meet Mike Macdonald’s team again. While the coach thinks his team is in a better position to play them, his frustration was visible. But can we blame him?

The Seahawks dominated the Niners 13-3 in Week 18, putting up one of the finest defensive showings of the season. They limited Shanahan’s offense to just 173 total yards, marking the lowest score in any regular-season game since Shanahan took over in 2017. Further, quarterback Brock Purdy struggled to move the ball for most of the game, posting just 127 yards and going scoreless with one interception. 

Moreover, the ground game was almost absent as running backs Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson Jr, and Purdy combined for only 53 rushing yards against the opponent’s 180 yards and one touchdown. Fortunately, things looked very different against Philadelphia. San Francisco’s star quarterback posted a solid 262 yards and two touchdowns. While the run game still didn’t fully click, San Francisco’s passing attack capitalized on the Eagles’ mistakes, such as drops and penalties.

Kyle Shanahan’s team eventually pulled out the win despite trailing until the third quarter. Now, delivering against a defense that already shut them down once remains a major challenge for the 49ers. To make matters worse, they are already reeling from tight end ‌George Kittle’s injury. 

Kyle Shanahan’s tight end goes down with a torn Achilles

George Kittle’s night was cut short after he suffered a torn Achilles during San Francisco’s wild-card win over Philly. The confirmation came from the head coach himself during the post-game conference. The 32-year-old sustained the injury during the team’s fourth drive of the game with less than seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. While catching a short six-yard pass from Purdy, he tried to turn upfield.

However, his right leg appeared to give out before Eagles linebacker Zack Baun tackled him. He dropped to the turf before the medical team rushed to the scene to evaluate him. The tight end was eventually carted off the field to the locker room. And then San Francisco ruled him out near the end of the first half.

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After the game, Shanahan later revealed that the medical staff immediately knew the injury was serious once they examined him on the field. Meanwhile, the cameras caught Kittle clapping and rooting for his teammates as he headed towards the locker room. This has been a challenging season for the player as he has dealt with multiple health issues that cost him playing time.

He has already missed five of the first six games with a hamstring problem. Then, he sat out one more in Week 17 in the wake of an ankle injury. He had made his comeback just last week with no injury designation. And now this one pulls him back to the sideline again. Before exiting tonight, he had posted one catch for six yards.

Currently, Kyle Shanahan’s team waits anxiously for clarity on his recovery timeline.