Eddy Pineiro Told Kyle Shanahan Why He Taunted Cardinals After Game-Winner: “We’re Supposed to Hate Our Division”

Kyle Shanahan sat down with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports to discuss the San Francisco 49ers’ plan of action against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Eddy Pineiro Told Kyle Shanahan Why He Taunted Cardinals After Game-Winner: “We’re Supposed to Hate Our Division”

Kyle Shanahan, Eddy Pineiro (Images via The Philadelphia Inquirer/ Getty Images)

The San Francisco 49ers clinched a late victory with a walk-off field goal against division rivals Arizona Cardinals, last week. The win was special for the 49ers and their new kicker, Eddy Pineiro, who was debuting for the Bay Area franchise.

Pineiro, who’s scored seven game-winning field goals over his first five seasons in the league, is no stranger to high-pressure situations. In the game against the Cardinals, the kicker gave in to the adrenaline from the win and the debut to taunt their opposition. In the brief chat with reporters following the game, Pineiro spoke about his post-game celebration. He told the reporters:

I was really excited. I didn’t want to lose to them at home. They’re a divisional rival. We weren’t going to let them come in and do that to us.

Kyle Shanahan, the Niners’ head coach, was asked about the celebration in a sitdown on the 49ers Talk. Shanahan admitted that he didn’t see the celebration in the heat of the moment and only realized it afterward. Shanahan was a good sport about Pineiro’s actions. Shanahan told Matt Maiocco:

I was thrown off by it a little bit… It looked very personal, so I was thinking whether they cut him one time or what happened, and then I looked up his bio, and he’s never been there, and then I thought it was funny. It was after the game, so you can’t get a penalty for it.

Kyle Shanahan was also pleased with the kicker’s explanation of why he gestured at the Cardinals’ sidelines. He added:

He gave me the right explanation. He goes ‘Coach, they’re a division opponent, we’re supposed to hate our division.‘

Earlier, the Niners GM John Lynch had shared tidbits of the interaction between the newly signed Pineiro, who replaced Jake Moody, and Shanahan. Lynch also praised the kicker and said that he thought that Pineiro had a little juice to him. He also added that the competition mentality in the kicker has transferred in small amounts to the others in the locker room.

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Kyle Shanahan look forward to continuing winning streak against the Jacksonville Jaguars

Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers will be looking to continue avoiding a Jacksonville Jaguars win against them. The Niners have played the Jaguars seven times so far, winning five of them, including the last five. The last time the Jaguars won against them was in December 2005. Two of their wins against the 49ers have come at home.

San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy will return for the San Francisco 49ers against the Jaguars (Image via Getty Images)

The Niners are considering the matchup as a must-win situation so that they can hold on to the starting advantage they have. Shanahan said:

I feel like this is a game we need to win. You can’t lose these types of games, and I know we’re going against a very good team, I know there are some situations that we need to overcome, but I have felt the same these last three weeks.

Although it is unknown what Shanahan referred to as some situations they need to overcome, it might be a subtle hint at the signal-stealing technology advantage. The head coach added that the game can go either way.

The coach also pointed out that the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Houston Texans in the last two minutes, thanks to a touchdown run from Travis Etienne Jr. The Jags will have the confidence of coming up clutch as they head down to the Bay Area.

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