Kyle Shanahan Explains Why He's So Cautious Before Halftime

SANTA CLARA -- Last week against the Packers, the 49ers got the ball with two timeouts and 4:09 remaining in the first half and scored no points.

As usual, Kyle Shanahan was more concerned about making sure the Packers didn't get another possession in the first half than actually scoring a touchdown, which is odd, considering the 49ers have one of the best offenses ever.

On Thursday, Kyle Shanahan explained why he's so conservative right before halftime.

Q: We've seen how you handle the final minutes of the first half. One, do you ever feel that anxiety that people in the stands feel when the clock is ticking, and how did it take for you to arrive at the decision to handle the end of first-half situations that way?

SHANAHAN: "Just going through it all and trying it in 2019 and seeing our success with it matched up with the 20 years of stats we had before that."

Q: On Saturday, did you handle it the way you wanted to or did a little bit too much time go off the clock?

SHANAHAN: "No, we handled it the way we wanted to. We ended up kicking it on fourth down. When you're thinking about that, it's not time, it's downs, and so the plays would have been the same. On the second down before that, we tried to get an explosive, and then you check it down. And then it goes to 3rd and 2. If we wouldn't have saved any time, it would have been 3rd and 2 in the same situation with about 40 seconds left and now everything is down to that 3rd and 2. If you don't get that 3rd and 2, now the other team gets the ball back with 40 seconds and three timeouts and now it's a totally different game. At that time we were up 7-6. Worst case scenario I feel we're going into halftime up 7-6. I'd like the second-worst-case scenario to be leading 10-6 knowing we'll make the field goal. We're starting with the ball in the third quarter so we have a chance to lap them. I still believe if we get the right look, which we almost did, the Mike was just a little bit too deep, now we're inside the 10 and we have two shots at the end zone where you have a chance to go up 14-6 and get the ball first in the third quarter and now you're up 21-6 and the game has been completely changed for that reason. Now they didn't give us the big shot, so we came to 3rd and 2. At least the whole half wasn't on the line on that 3rd and 2. We knew exactly what we had. We still went for it, but we didn't get it and now we can kick our field goal and they're never going to touch the ball again. Those are the stats. Took me a while to believe it like all you guys, but there's too much history with it. I believe that really helps us have a good record."