What do you say at halftime, down 24-7, on the verge of getting blown out in the NFC Championship in your own building? Apparently, not all that much.
There was no, "Win just one for the Gipper!" speech.
Trent Williams said the offense told the defense to lock in, and that the offense would respond in kind.
"I came in this locker room, and I know everybody at halftime, everybody would think that it was a screaming fest and yelling, but it really wasn't," Williams said. It was, defense, know what we got to do. We know that if you stop them from scoring, the offense, the plays are there. We can make the plays and they're there to be made.
"So we told them, 'Y'all don't let them score. We're gonna score the ball. We're gonna get points on the board.' And not only did they not let him score, they got us a turnover, a couple of turnovers on downs, so that's just as good as the turnover. So those guys balled out. The second half really saved our season."
Brock Purdy confirmed that the 49ers didn't have much in the way of speeches.
"No one was rah-rah. No one was freaking out," Purdy said. "It’s football. There’s a lot of experienced guys on this team, veterans that have been in crazy situations. Everyone was, ‘Alright, we just got to do our job straight up. Offense has to move the ball. We got to put up points, convert on third downs. Defense got some stops. That was about it. There wasn’t much said.
"Kyle said a couple things. Fred said a couple things. We kept it simple. Went out. We all knew what we had to do. Season is on the line, down 17. Everybody stepped up.”
Nick Bosa said he made some sort of attempt to inspire people, though he didn't seem all that impressed with his effort.
"I was on the ground with a heat pack on my back just screaming random things, trying to get people... hoof," Bosa said. "Not that random, but I was just like, 'There's so much football left.' We made a couple adjustments.
"I said, 'Just take that first read away and we're getting home,' and our guys did it."
So, maybe the articulation wasn't there, though the 49ers did get home much more regularly to Goff in the second half.
Even if the speeches weren't there, San Francisco had plenty of anger to work with.
"I think we were just pissed off," said Kyle Shanahan. "I think guys were extremely pissed. That first half wasn't, we were down by 17, it was the way were down. They were kind of having their way in the run game. We weren’t getting much in our run game either. We don’t want to go out like that. We dug ourselves in a big hole."
While there were adjustments made, with Tashuan Gipson Sr. saying that he was switched almost exclusively onto tight end Sam LaPorta, they weren't monumental.
Shanahan indicated they ran a bit more man coverage defensively, but mostly spoke with the catch-all descriptor that the 49ers just "tightened up" their defense.
Javon Kinlaw told 95.7 The Game his group didn't change much. The key in the second half? ... it's better you read it from him.
"We really didn't change anything," Kinlaw said. "We just knew it was gut check time and we had to drop our nuts right there. Let 'em hang and be who we are. Allow destiny to take over."
As much as that comment might make you laugh, Kinlaw's serious about that destiny. And with the bounces they got — which even Williams described as "lucky" and founded in providence — it's understandable to feel that way.
Kinlaw, as much as anyone, can appreciate the journey to get to this point. He was barely been on the field the first three years of his career with knee injuries, and is now playing a key role on the interior. While his run defense has been inconsistent, he helped force a Jahmyr Gibbs run stop, and got a key pressure on Jared Goff.
As he was talking about that journey, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek came up to him and locker mate Kevin Givens. He locked eyes with each one, holding up his index finger with the intensity only Kocurek can.
"One more," he said. "One more."