Like 49ers fans and other football fanatics across the world watching the “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers, Kyle Shanahan was shocked that Dre Greenlaw was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet collision with Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
And being shocked might be a bit of an understatement.
“No, I didn’t think so at all,” Shanahan told reporters on whether he thought the ejection was valid. “It kind of actually blew my mind.”
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The play occurred just before halftime on third-and-6 at San Francisco’s 40 when Herbert scrambled up the middle and tried to dive forward before being hit from behind by 49ers safety Jimmie Ward.
But the hit from Ward launched Herbert forward and Greenlaw’s helmet collided with Herbert’s as the 24-year-old QB went down.
After a few moments of deliberation, officials opted to enforce the 15-yard penalty and eject Greenlaw.
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“I understand the penalty, I totally get that right at the third down marker,” Shanahan continued. “He was lowering his shoulder, but I got to learn what that is. I get how it is with the penalties and stuff because I think he did hit his helmet. I haven’t seen a replay, we’ll see when I get home tonight and watch it again.
“But there had to be intent and something unnecessary. That was a big play right there and for us to lose Greenlaw for the whole game off that, that really shocked me. Hopefully, they can teach us that so we can understand why we lost one of our players.”
After San Francisco’s 22-16 win at Levi’s Stadium, Nick Bosa also addressed the controversial ejection and cleared up something about his teammate.
“It’s a tough play,” Bosa said. “Stuff happens really fast out there. I know him, he’s not trying to hurt anybody. He’s just trying to make a play. It is what it is.”
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And Greenlaw definitely didn’t hold back his thoughts on the ejection, posting to his Instagram story as soon as he got to the locker room.
While the official pool report confirmed the penalty was “flagrant” by NFL officials, it’s clear the 49ers linebacker was just as flabbergasted as his teammates and coaches were.