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January 6, 2026 • 10 mins

Grant Cohn with Sports Illustrated in San Francisco joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the 49ers loss to the Seahawks last weekend, the excuses given by Bay Area fans, the desire for a rematch, the playoff matchup ahead and the Seahawks.

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Duke of Duke Seafood and this hour is
brought to you by Duke Seafood. Why don't you make
it a Duke's night tonight. Deserve your table today at
Dukeseafood dot com. Now back to Softy and Dim on
Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
This is only a one score game.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
Quick one out to Kenneth Walker coming.

Speaker 4 (00:19):
Wide right thirty thirty five, break's a tackle, spins out
for the first down.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
He converts on third at seventeen forty nine.

Speaker 5 (00:27):
Ers get out leverage and linebackers get blown up. Tatum
Bethoon very very late. Wallow is late to the party.
That is an absolute killer, alright.

Speaker 6 (00:38):
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(01:00):
have said?

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Just be anchorman William I'm n.

Speaker 6 (01:05):
Editor at Penispurple dot com. Win my pair of tickets
for the Tacoma RV. I don't want to go to
that website.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Thank you well.

Speaker 6 (01:14):
Joining us right now on the radio program from the
Niners on si UH, Grant Cohen, Joining us right now
on the radio program, Grant, Welcome back to the show.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
How are you man?

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Thank you for that wonderful intro. What was you talking
about that, dude?

Speaker 6 (01:30):
I'm telling you, I'm Ron Bergend. You'll read whatever you
put in front of my face. Just tell me what
to read and I'll read it for you. Well, let's
let's talk about what we saw last Saturday. First of all,
it doesn't sound like you were too surprised at the
way the Niners offense performed in that game against the
Seahawk defense. But how surprised were you that this was
pretty much, let's face it, outside of a couple of breaks,

(01:52):
special teams, first and goal from the one, this was
a whippin by the Hawks last Saturday?

Speaker 7 (01:57):
Right, Well, the Hawks to win, but not like that.
I didn't think they were gonna hold the Niners at
three points. I don't think anyone thought that. I mean,
I thought that the Niners were gonna be able to
point to their you know, injuries on defense and use
as an excuse and we couldn't stop them. But really
only thirteen points. The defense wasn't good, but only thirteen points.
That's why this loss was so like sobering and kind

(02:19):
of emasculating, because, I mean, three points with brock perty
who's supposed to be the best quarterback in the league,
and Kyle Andy was supposed to be the best coach
in the league three points, I mean he was gonna
be the coach of the year. Now it's Mike McDonald.
I couldn't imagine a more heart gut rnching loss than that.

Speaker 4 (02:36):
Well, Grant, we talked about it before the game, and
you pretty much nail it. And I think that what
gets me about the Niner fans of what I'm hearing
from down there is the whining about the injuries costing
the Niners the game. And I could totally buy that
if this was a twenty three to twenty nail bier
and you know, somebody came off a Trent Williams side

(02:57):
against the backup and got a stripsack to win the Okay,
get that? How can Niner fans legitimately say that this
was because of the injuries when they watched the game
and saw their team totally get demolished.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
Well, I think they're taking their cues from their head coach.

Speaker 7 (03:11):
I mean, Kyle Shanahan was kind of in a whiny
mood all week before the game even started.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
He immediately complained about the game being on Saturday.

Speaker 7 (03:18):
Mike McDonald didn't seem to care, but Kyle Shanahan did
because I think he felt that if they had played
on Sunday, they would have had Rickey Pearson on Trent Williams,
which I don't know, maybe maybe not, and even if
you had them, like you probably still would have lost.
But he was kind of whining about it. He feels
like the Niners got screwed, and I think Niner fans
feel the same way, and they're saying like, well, we
had that one drive at the end, and if it
wasn't intercepted, it would have been a touchdown, it would

(03:39):
have been.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
A one score game.

Speaker 7 (03:40):
But it was intercepted, you know what I mean, Like,
and you weren't gonna stop him on the subsequent drive.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
I love how much you hate the forty nine ers.
It's all I really do. I love having you on.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
God damn, it's their fans man.

Speaker 6 (03:51):
Yeah, but there's no there's nobody who covers a team
on a regular basis who busts their own balls more
than you get after the forty nine ers.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
It is unbelievable and I love it.

Speaker 6 (04:02):
So let me ask you this, how much are people
down there jones in for a rematch? And if there
is a rematch, do you have any reason to think
anything would be different.

Speaker 3 (04:13):
With the Seahawks. I don't even they gotta beat the Eagles.

Speaker 7 (04:16):
I don't think they're even that confident they're gonna beat
the Eagles because the Eagles look like the Seahawks. I mean,
and the Niners are worse than they were going to
the Seahawks game. They were counting on that bye week.
Now they lost Tatum Bethune, they're backup middle linebacker who's
filling in for Fred Warner. They just signed Kazeir White
off the street. They're gonna probably start him and Eric Kendricks.
They can't stop Saquon Barkley. I would be shocked if

(04:37):
they beat Philly. But if they somehow pull off that upset,
then yeah, I guess they know they don't want to
face the Seahawks again. Now they're all talking about, well,
we were out manned. Why what do you expect us
to do against Seattle? Well, yeah, you guess you are.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (04:50):
I mean I thought they were a live dog against
whoever they faced in the first round of the playoffs
prior to the Seahawks game. But it just seems like
they got beat down physically and emotionally. And you mentioned
can't stop Saquon Barkley. Do you think they're gonna play
Bowl safeties fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage all
day against the Eagles like they did against the Hawks.
What did you make of the defensive scheme that Robert

(05:11):
Sala played against Seattle?

Speaker 7 (05:13):
It was just awful. I mean, I think the world
in him. I think he's a hell of a coach,
but I thought he was awful in this game. And
I thought he made the choice like I just don't
want to give up any big plays.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
I want to bring this into the red zone and
then I'll do my best stuff there. But you just
gave up six yards of carry and you conceded it.

Speaker 7 (05:30):
And then on third and three, third and four, you're
playing soft zone coverage and conceding first down catches to
heerk Salbert, it just felt like a smarter game plan
would be would be to load the box and put
the game in Donald's hands.

Speaker 3 (05:42):
That's exactly where the Seahawks don't want it.

Speaker 7 (05:44):
Put it in Donald's hands, make him make plays, and
he didn't do it.

Speaker 3 (05:47):
I don't get it.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
Well.

Speaker 6 (05:48):
Grant Cohen, with us from the Niners Media Corps, covers
the team for SI. I gotta tell you, Grant, if
I were a Niner fan, I'd be a little bit
tired of Diamador Leonor running as pie hole. I mean,
Richard Sherman ran his mouth a lot, but he backed
it up. Every single time he opened up his mouth,
he backed it up. And here comes Diamador Leonore talking

(06:09):
about wanting to shadow jaysn Well, he never does that
against anybody, Like all of his snaps have been almost
exclusively on the left side at left corner. Are are
Niner fans growing a little tired of how much this
guy's chirping down there at all?

Speaker 7 (06:23):
I mean, I don't think they're tired of the chirping.
I think they wish he would just play better. I
mean you're supposed to chirp, I guess if you're a
number one cornerback. But they gave him one snap one
on one against JSN, and he made He committed a
penalty in the end zone, and they went away from
that the rest of the game.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
They gave him a big contract. He hasn't made any
plays this year.

Speaker 7 (06:40):
They want him to play better, and I don't think
anyone thought he could match up with JSN man the
man anyway. I don't even know if he thought he could,
but it was it sounded good. All I want to
know is that he didn't show up in the locker
room the rest of the week. I'm thinking the Niners
didn't want him to say that. Maybe they're getting tired
of that.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Wow, Hang on a second.

Speaker 6 (06:54):
He did not show up in the locker room for
me last week for the for Afrey popped his mouth.

Speaker 7 (06:59):
I think he was there after the game, but he
wasn't there Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, when he could have followed
up and expanded on what he wanted to do and
what he thought he could do. He wasn't there, And
I'm guessing the team told him, Hey, why don't you
hang out back here?

Speaker 5 (07:10):
With the media.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
Isn't party Trent Williams, Ricky Piersoll talk about how they're
feeling for this week.

Speaker 7 (07:18):
I mean, I guess I'll have a better feeling tomorrow
when I get there. I'm in the facility, but I
can't imagine that Trent Williams will play.

Speaker 3 (07:26):
I mean, he's three hundred and thirty pounds, he's thirty
seven years old.

Speaker 7 (07:29):
It's not an ankle injury. This is a hamstring injury.
You could make it way worse, you could tear it.
So he might want to play, but I don't know
that he physically can. And Ricky Piarsol seems like they
need to shut him down for the year. He's had
the same PCL injuries this week forward. Every time he
hits the grass, he limps off the field, So I
don't know how much he can really help. This kind
of feels like the Niners. I don't know they're gonna

(07:51):
use the injury excuse and lose. That's kind of the
feeling I get.

Speaker 6 (07:53):
All right, Well, then you tell us, then, from your
unbiased perspective down there in the Bay Area, how far
do you think the Sea team goes up here?

Speaker 3 (08:02):
M Man, I think that I think you have the
best team in the league.

Speaker 7 (08:07):
I just it's palpable how much Clint Kubiak and Mike
McDonald don't trust Sam Donald and.

Speaker 3 (08:12):
I wouldn't either.

Speaker 7 (08:13):
I mean, when he missed first and goal from the one,
you didn't go to sarpaonnay and he took a sack
like that's not a quarterback that looks like he's gonna
win a Super Bowl. So I'd be a little surprised.
But I do think you have the best team. It's
it's interesting, what do you guys think.

Speaker 6 (08:26):
I think the fact that they called that pass play
on first and goal from the one shows you that
they do believe in Sam Donald. Fair he just missed
a wide open receiver. I mean that was a that
was a horrible play, grant. I mean, I'll admit that,
I think everybody would.

Speaker 4 (08:40):
And then instead of throwing it away, he takes the sack.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
Was awful play.

Speaker 7 (08:45):
What what in the other one where he gets stepped
on by the center and then when he tries to
pitch it, like just go down.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
More than that, I felt like he had some poison.
I think he's improving slowly.

Speaker 6 (08:53):
I just wonder the Seahawk running game, Grant, that we
saw just tear that defense up. Like we're following the
Seahawks all year obviously, man right, and the run game
has not been good for the majority of the year,
and then all of a sudden boom in the last
three weeks, they go bananas. They're averaging how many yards
per Kerry Dick the last pay five point one, which

(09:13):
is fourth in the NFL in the last three games,
Like this running game has come out of nowhere, And
I'm just I'm really curious, Grant, how much of what
they did against the Niners defense is because the Seahawks
running game is now legit or because the Niner run
defense is terrible.

Speaker 3 (09:31):
Well, put it this way.

Speaker 7 (09:33):
Two weeks before the Niners got emasculated by the Seahawks,
they went into Indianapolis and completely shut down Jonathan Taylor.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
I mean there's something to be said for that.

Speaker 7 (09:42):
I've always thought the world of Kenneth Walker and Zach Sharpney.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
I think they're one of the better one two punches
in the league.

Speaker 7 (09:47):
So maybe the offensive line is coming around, maybe Klink
Kubiak is getting a better feel for how to use them,
But I think that running game is real.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, grant great stuff.

Speaker 6 (09:55):
We appreciate this, and who knows, maybe we will see
you guys very very soon.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
Appreciate it, man, that would be a lot of fun.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
Thanks for having me.
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