Head coach Brian Daboll

Q. What do you see with your defense right now? Three straight games with 30-plus points.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, and look, they ran it. I wouldn't say they had a ton of explosives but they ran it and they were pretty productive running the football. Longest one was that last one, I think 18 yards, whatever. But you know, four or five, six, average 4.1, 40 carries. We've got to do a better job in that area. I don't think it's a secret. Team game. Team game. But certainly got to do better.

Q. How big was that last sequence in the first half? You get the turnover there and don't get anything out of it.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, that's a great play by Burns and Abdul. Didn't come away with points. That was, I wouldn't say the breaker, but you'd love to have points down there. Didn't get it done.

Q. Are those tears of emotion or is that just --

BRIAN DABOLL: Whose?

Q. Yours.

BRIAN DABOLL: Is it what? I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you're saying.

Q. You walked in here, it looked like there were tears coming out of our your eyes, or that just allergies?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, it wasn't tears.

Q. I know you haven't watched the film but what did you think of the tackling, particularly in the secondary?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, look, nothing was good enough. You know, the guys battled but ultimately not good enough.

Q. How are you going to fix it, and how are you going to make it better?

BRIAN DABOLL: We've got to keep working on our tackling. Thought we eliminated some explosive plays, which was good, but four of five in the red zone is tough, and three of those were on third down, and we got picked with the one with McCaffrey on the way back there. You've just got to keep working at it and making sure you're on top of it, whether it's finishing catches, finishing tackles, whatever it may be, we've got to continue to work on it, coach it better, and ultimately, do it on game day.

Q. Defensively, when things are not getting better, 30-plus and three straight, tackling still an issue, is there a disconnect from what you guys are trying to teach and what's being perceived by the players?

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, we didn't get the results. Again our guys are working. The stuff we work on each week. You know, but it's not getting done.

Q. How did you see the effort at the end?

BRIAN DABOLL: I just thought they ran hard. D-Rob had that one hard run. The guys were battling. Again, four yards, six yards, eight yards, ten yards, whatever it may be in the run game, 40 carries, or 39 carries, 100-some yards, 4.1. Wanted to eliminate explosives from McCaffrey both in the run and pass game. I thought Mac threw on rhythm. Was pretty good in getting the ball, distributing the ball. You know, we missed a couple things that we had opportunities on third down offensively to keep drives going. So –

Q. On the McCaffrey touchdown, you said you guys got picked, is that one where you were supposed to switch or stay with it?

BRIAN DABOLL: They had a nice play design and guessed what we were playing and ran across from the opposite side and the linebacker got picked. Give them credit. It was a good play design.

Q. What was the thought process on kicking the field goal in the red zone in the third quarter?

BRIAN DABOLL: Fourth and four. So that was -- if it was a certain distance, we would have went for it. Made it a 10-point game, I believe. That's the reason why.

Q. What did you think of Jaxson Dart's performance, the diving touchdown at the end, his progression overall?

BRIAN DABOLL: I think he battles. Kid gives everything he has. Competes 60 minutes. Makes good decisions. We've got to do a good job of finishing plays around him, too. But he battles and I'm proud of him.

Q. He looked pretty beat up after the game, Jaxson.

BRIAN DABOLL: You'd have to ask Jaxson. I just saw him coming in. He said he's good -- not good, though. He's a competitor. So when you get these results, it should frustrate you. It should have you, for lack of better terms, not happy.

Q. Why not take him out in the final couple minutes of these games because you know he's ultra competitive? He's going to put his shoulder into guys. He's that important to your team.

BRIAN DABOLL: It was 34-24, we had three time-outs left. Went for the onside. If we would have held them there, get the ball back with, say, 50 seconds, so we are going to try to play till the end there. That's what we're going to do.

Q. Last year you had talked about how important it was to get quarterback play and the level of quarterback play that you're getting from Jaxson, does it feel like a missed opportunity for this team to not get overall play from all phases when you're getting the play that you're getting from Jaxson?

BRIAN DABOLL: Look, we can all do a better job but I'd say that he's steadily improved. You know, continues to make plays. Continues to battle, compete, give guys opportunities to make plays and that's what we've got to do.

Q. In many of the games he has played, you've scored a touchdown on the opening drive. What are you seeing on that opening drive that's giving you guys such success?

BRIAN DABOLL: Good execution.

Q. Would you consider a change in defensive play calling to see if that could spark something?

BRIAN DABOLL: Look, none of us did a good enough job. That starts with me. We'll continue to work at it.

Q. You mentioned before about Jaxson, you said it should frustrate and should be upset by that and he clearly shows that.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah.

Q. Are you seeing that across the board with your team?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, Jaxson is the leader of our football team. I know he's a rookie and that's a hard thing to do as a rookie. And the way he competes, you know, people need to feed off of that. Again, there's plenty of plays out there that we had opportunities to do -- and just didn't get the job done.

Q. Ownership said after last year, they expected better results next year, otherwise things would be different. This year, how much does 2-7 concern you?

BRIAN DABOLL: We've got to continue to improve here. Again, there's some things that I think are improving and there's some things that are not.

Q. 2-7, but it's the end result, how much does that concern you?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, look, we are not where we need to be.

Q. Did you get enough from Dexter Lawrence today? Obviously he had a week in the headlines --

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I'd say we're going to sit back and take a look at. This is immediately after the game. Look, the guys battled. We just didn't get it done.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart

Q. First off, how you feeling physically? Took some pretty big shots today.

JAXSON DART: Yeah, definitely took a few hits. But I made it out good.

Q. You guys, six starts, four opening drives, you scored touchdowns. What is it that you're not able to execute later on in the game and have that same success?

JAXSON DART: That's a tough question. We just had, like, penalties on situations that really hurt where it's a very manageable first down. I think that we are great on first and second down.

So we got into a lot of third and longs. In this league, it's really hard. You know, they did a really good job of just keeping everything in front of them, and you know, just wasn't a ton of opportunities to get behind them, just how they were playing coverage. That's kind of just their motto. They want to see if a team can continually stay positive to drive down the whole field and not give up big plays. So when you get into third-and-long situations, it makes it really hard.

Q. In Philadelphia, you and Cam were like, you don't want to be lumped in with the losing of the past. Is there anything you see that has carried over? Obviously you were separate and not part of that but is there anything you see when things go bad, maybe you're not able to get it back moving in the right direction?

JAXSON DART: That's a hard question, too. The biggest thing is I just think that we've got to be able to not just let things collapse a little bit. You know, good plays are going to happen for the other team, that's just the league that we play in, and we can't let one lead to another. I think that's just something we need to get better at. Like we have to have the intensity, the focus as a whole team to weather the adversity storms, and you know, always just keep the belief that we're going to win. You know, I think at times, we just let a few things lead to another instead of just shutting it down one play at a time.

Q. How much is that belief being tested given the results?

JAXSON DART: It's not fun to lose. I have all the confidence in the world each and every week that we are going to win. I don't ever view another team any differently. Just as a team, we have opportunities to take advantage of moments, and I thought we did today, too. There's just certain plays that we've got to make. I think we just need to play better football all around as a team, both sides of the ball, special teams. When you look at the whole spectrum, we just missed out on certain plays in all three phases. In this league you can't do that. You have to be able to win at least two of them to win the game and I think that they made more plays that we did in those three phases.

Q. Dabs was in here and he called you the leader of this team, not just the offense. For you the last couple weeks, we've talked about how much you hate losing and how you would manifest that in your play, how do you take a step away from just being the quarterback to being the leader of this team and get this team where it needs to be?

JAXSON DART: Yeah, just continue to encourage. We have really talented players. Guys who have an opportunity each week to do really good things. I'm just going to continue to do my job of encouraging everybody around me and try to hold a standard to myself each and every day and hopefully I can try to raise the bar for everybody else. You know, we're close. Like when you look at the season, and I know that you can say this for a lot of teams, but we're really close to having this season kind of flip in a different direction. You know, it's going to take all of us collectively to try to find a way to win one game at a time. We know what that feeling feels like and we're going to have to be able to respond and do the same thing the next week, and I think that that will help us try to get on a roll. We're going to have some more guys get healthy and that will help in the coming weeks, and as leaders, we've got to stay together and try to raise the bar for everybody around us and for us, as well, we've got to play better, too.

Q. The sequence at the end of the first half after Burns had the strip sack. What happened on that series? Do you think you could have gone more aggressive? Looked liked you were playing for three there.

JAXSON DART: I don't think we were playing for three at all. We were trying to score a touchdown. Just didn't execute. Plays that were called, I thought they were good plays. We just didn't execute as players.

Q. How difficult is that at halftime when you go into the locker room? Just mentally to get over that?

JAXSON DART: You have to in those situations. You have to get points. It's definitely a sour taste. But we've got to be able to come out in the second half and respond better and play complementary football.

Q. How do you think you played today?

JAXSON DART: Doesn't matter. We lost.

Q. As the teams have more film on you, are you starting to see adjustments in how teams are scheming you?

JAXSON DART: Absolutely. I thought that they did a good job of kind of like collapsing the pocket and I think that's just kind of going to be the name of the game going forward. I think that teams understand that I can run a little bit. So as lanes open up, I can get a first down but they did a good job. They kind of collapse the pocket on you and played soft coverage all around. We got caught in situations that were hard to manage, quite honestly.

Q. On the sack from behind, you didn't see him at all, how did you hold on to the ball in that situation?

JAXSON DART: Strong hands.

Q. You didn't sense anything from behind, did you?

JAXSON DART: Maybe until like the last second but some of those are hard. I don't have eyes in the back of my head. And you know, they did a good job. I thought they were a defense that really played through the whistle, and you saw that on film.

So me extending those plays, they did a good job rallying as a defense.

Q. What was your feeling about all the 49er fans in the building today?

JAXSON DART: That was interesting. I've never played at a home game where I felt like it was kind of lopsided in that department. But they have a good fan base and they traveled well.

Q. Before you became the starter, you were confident you could elevate this team and franchise. Now that you have seen this league in your six starts, is that confidence at the same level or greater than or less than what you had?

JAXSON DART: My confidence doesn't waver. I feel like I work as hard as I can each and every week to prepare. I have confidence in the guys around me and I have confidence in the coaches. So that's something that's not going to waver at all

Q. Do you have any thoughts on the upcoming game against Chicago?

JAXSON DART: We've got to win. That needs to be the focus and the only focus.

Q. It seems like you and Brian have a very unique relationship. As these losses pile up, stability for his job is going to get significant, and the chances of change are going to increase. Do you feel that pressure to turn this around and turn it around quick because of what could change if the losses keep coming?

JAXSON DART: I understand the question, but I am going to give you the answer that I truly feel. I can only control what I can control, and I don't want to look at things that way. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself in any regard. I want to just live in the moment that I have. I want to take advantage of the opportunities that I have. As a team, we should be thinking that same way. We have a chance to win every game that we have on our schedule. That's how I feel.

So we've got to find a way as players, the guys who are out there on the field, to make enough plays to win the game and that's kind of how I view things. The coaches, they call the plays, but a play can technically work against any defense or any coverage or whatever it is. The same thing goes on the defensive side. As players, we've got to be better. They are not the ones out there on the field. We are. Us, as a team, need to be better that way.

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence

Q: Did you see effort that you were not happy with on the field?

A: I don't think there was any lack of effort. I think everybody played hard. We just didn't make the plays.

Q: How would you assess your individual performance?

A: I think I was getting a lot of knockback, a lot of push, seeing a lot of doubles. Same stuff. I think I'm playing well, but I've got to make more plays.

Q: At one point in the fourth quarter, they were averaging almost six yards per play. What do you think about that?

A: We didn't make the plays that came to us.

Q: Do you have any desire to play anywhere else?

A: I don't.

Q: How can you help lead a turnaround here?

A: Just keep leading. Eventually the wall will break. That's just what I've got to do as a leader.

Q: When you have three straight games where the defense allows over 30, there's a lot of pride within this room and right now it doesn't seem like anything is getting better. How do you turn that around? Where does the change come from?

A: I think everyone as an individual has to look at themselves and see if they're executing, if they're in the right spots, if they're doing the right thing, if they're studying longer, if they're making the plays that come to them. I think that's the biggest thing.

Q: When you say that's what the team has to do, you'll do that obviously also. What do you think you'll see about yourself? What can I do better or more?

A: I've got to do all the same things. I've got to study more, got to practice harder, play harder.

Offensive tackle Andrew Thomas

Q: On having a hopeful outlook on the rest of the season

A: That's the most frustrating part. I think we have talent. I think we can compete. It's just about execution and the moments that matter. And I said that last weekend. We just are not doing it as a team, so we've got to figure out how to do that.

Q: On fixing mistakes being made week to week

A: Well, I would say that's on us as leadership. Guys on the team that are supposed to be the better players, we've got to figure out a way to get that done. Like I said, we have talent. We have guys that can play at a high level. We've just got to execute.

Q: On having a young quarterback who can make plays

A: That's the beauty of football. This is the best team sport. So, obviously, (quarterback) Jaxson's (Dart) a great player, but it's all 11 when you're out there - offense, special teams, defense. We all have to execute. Just have to look in the mirror and just try to see how you can get better.

Q: Making sense of a talented team with a 2-7 record

A: I mean, I think it's hard to win in this league. That's the first thing. And two, I would say a lot of the games are closer – we're scoring, we have glimpses, flashes of executing the right way, but it's not consistent enough.

Q: On being more aggressive after a turnover

A: I don't make the calls. All I do is execute my job. That's up to the coaching staff, and we have to execute up front to do what we need to do.

Q: On Jaxson getting sacked from behind

A: Yeah, so it was an up-field rush. My back is turned. I see him scrambling, and I just got to do a better job of finishing the play. That's something that we talked about up front. Jaxson's going to scramble. He's going to make plays. We just have to block until the whistle and I didn't that play.