M m M. Hello and welcome to the forty Niners First and ten Podcast, ten minutes of the most up to date forty Niners news first thing in the morning. I'm your host Brian McDonald, and I'm joined with forty Niners team reporter Lindsay Polariz. Lindsey, thanks for joining me, of course, Brie. Alright, So before we get into previewing the Week sixteen matchup against the Washington Commanders, let's talk
Pro Bowl. The forty Niners received the most fan votes out of every team in the league, so shout out to the faithful. Six San Francisco players earned spots on the Pro Bowl roster. Those players being defensive lineman Nick Bosa, fullback Kyle use Check, tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner, left tackle Trent Williams, and safety Teleno who Funga earned
his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Additionally, offensive lineman Jake Brendle, kicker Robbie Gold, running back Christian McCaffrey returned, specialist Ray Ray McLeod, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, cornerback Trevorius Ward, and punter Mitchishnowski were selected as alternates. It's a long list of Niners we've got going this year. So, lindsay, what was your first reaction to seeing the list of
forty Niners who made the Pro Bowl. First of all, it is great to see six players on that first team selection, and of course you're just happy for anybody that gets a Pro Bowl NOD. I know that. I spoke to safety Talo who Fonga Um, Who's just so excited. It was like one of his personal goals to get his first Pro Bowl. UM. So obviously a lot of excitement surrounding that. The rest of the players, UM, the other five not huge surprises. They're obviously just huge contributors
on this team. But I do want to say, I think there is a name missing from this and it is something we from head coach Kyle Shanahan as well. I don't know, there's been a lot of enthusiasm for a linebacker Dre green Law this year, especially when it comes to just within the organization and the faithful fan base, So I feel like that's maybe a name that is missing, especially just because he's been playing lights out, kind of
the one to punch a linebacker duo with Fred Warner. Um, you know, just a great stretch of games by Dre green Law, so maybe maybe a big miss there. UM. And then also, you know we heard head coach Kyle Shanahan also mentioned Christian McCaffrey is one that UM feels like he should have been a first selection as well. Really tough to not see them making that starter list, especially with Dre green Law having the most tackles on the forty niners number one ranked defense in the league.
But this week, the forty Niners are going to be up against a tough Commander's team that's fighting for a spot in the postseason. The Commanders are currently sitting in the seventh and final seed in the NFC playoff picture. What should we expect from Washington come Saturday. I think we should expect a team that is playing for their lives basically, you know, they want to be able to continue on in the postseason, and you know, for them,
a win is very critical. Obviously on the forty Niners side now is just about playoff positioning, but definitely not a team to be underestimated. Their first in time of possession, they have an amazing top five defense, UM, so definitely a force to be reckoned with. Not somebody that should be underestimated. And you know, I know that the entire
forty Niners team is not taking this next opponent lightly. UM. I think the mentality on the forty Niner side is, you know, UM, don't take your foot off the gas because they want a very competitive home stretch of the season. We heard from head coach Call Shanahan on Tuesday and again yesterday. Here's what he had to say about competing against Washington m ayone who plays defense as well as they do and commits to running the ball UM usually
is recipe to be in the playoffs. UM. You know, they're number one in the league in time of possession UM, their top four in yards I think, their top their third on third down UM, their top five at least amount of explosives UM, and they they're top five defense. And when you have that and you're able to stop the run UM without always having to play the run, make some rolled up to go against. They don't give
up big plays, They make everyone work for everything. And then on the other side of the ball, UM, they're controlling that clock. So UM usually when they take care of the ball, they win. Shanahan mentioned it and his team echoed it. Also the Commanders are entering the contest with a very physical defense there ranked number four in the league, and their past rush is what really stands out.
With it being brock parties only third start this season, what does the forty Niners offense have to do to replicate the success that they've had over the past two games. You know, I think it comes down to making sure that Brock is well protected, especially against a pass rush that,
like you said, has been very successful. Um, they are one of only two teams that have three or more players with seven or more sacks than Also, UM, defensive lineman Chase Young is also back in the fold for this game, so little extra firepower on the Commander's pass rush. So definitely just want to make sure that Brock pretty is protected in the pocket. Obviously, he is working back from a ribbon an oblique injury. UM he didn't get an injury designation this week, so he's obviously trending in
the right direction. But you know, you just want to protect your quarterback at all times. And then also, you know, I think if you want to replicate the success, you want to have a good game on the ground, and we saw Christian McCaffrey really take a bulk of the reps in Seattle, probably going to see more of that. And Kyle Shanahan also hit tied at the idea of Jordan Mason getting more reps earlier in the game. UM, we'll see how his hamstring tightness that we heard about
today kind of plays into that. UM, But definitely definitely lots to do in order to keep plugging away. Here's what offensive line and run game coordinator Chris Forrester had to say about preparing the offense for the Commander's aggressive defensive line. And this group defensively is uh. You can see their very sound uh and what they do schematically. They're very well coached. Their techniques are very very good. They've got skilled players. When they come to tackle, you
know you're getting tackled. When when you hit one of them, you know you hit one of them. I mean, it's a it's a stout group. They bring it every single week and they present a great challenge for us up
front on the offensive line. On the other side of the ball, the forty Niners defense has been preparing for a Commander's offense that's known for their run game, dominating in time of possession, and with their rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. Having the hot hand in Washington's run game, how is the forty Niners number one defense going to match up against that? You know, I think for them
it is just keep doing what you're doing. Uh. The forty Niners defense obviously top ranked right now, and they're holding opponents their averages fifteen points allowed per game. Um. I was reading a stat that the Commanders are averaging just over eighteen points a game on offense. So it's going they're going to be really really tough to beat if they're holding the Commanders to that very low average as well. Um. So I think it's just about getting those big plays, and we've seen kind of the big
playmakers on defense switch every game. You never know who it's gonna be, who's gonna come away with the force
fumble or the interception. Um. But obviously a matchup to watch is going to be the forty Niners run defense, which is number one in the league, going against, like you said, a run game from the Commanders that is eleventh overall, and just making sure that Brian Robinson doesn't have a good day on Saturday for the forty Niners defense, The rich is only getting richer since Jevon Kimla is expected to play on Saturday, and they'll also have the
star power of Eric Armstead on the defensive line. So lindsay, what does the game status is for those possibly injured players look like going into Saturday's game. We have cornerback to our Various Ward who is on the last steps of his concussion protocol. Kyle Shanahan said that they would
have more clarity on his status later today, which is Friday. Additionally, we have Ambree Thomas questionable with an ankle injury, Carrie Hyder, junior defensive lineman also questionable with an ankle injury, and defensive back to our Various More dealing with an illness and a knee injury. Someone to look out for there. And then new to the injury report like I mentioned earlier,
was rookie running back Jordan Mason Uh. They described his issue as just some hamstring tightness that happened during Wednesday's practice. He didn't close out the workout and they were just being safe today. So I think that those are going to be just injuries that you keep a look out for, and the team will have more clarity as we get
into the weekend. Thank you for those updates. Well. With the forty Niners playing on Christmas Eve this Saturday, some of the forty Niners members shared their favorite holiday traditions and Christmas songs. Here's what they had to say. I would say Silver Bells is my favorite song, um by
who's that Dean Martin? So I love that song. And then some favorite movies I do, like The Grinch, like The Family Stone and uh, shoot one more, probably Home Alone it's a classic favorite Christmas song be uh Silent
Night by the Temptations, and favorite Christmas tradition Uh. I would say this when I was younger, like my family always would we have a few gathering on Christmas Eve and everyone would just always exchange gifts as a matter of giving and everybody just being thankful for what they had and it was just a really cool time for the family to get together. And I think that's what you know Christmas. It turns it is all about his family being around each other. Probably me reading the night
before Christmas. I always do that the night before um and I'm trying to make it as entertaining as possible where everyone just laughs at me and mis pronounced things and stuff. Okay, well I think we have to share our own favorites too, Yes, okay, So my Christmas tradition that I have with my family is that we actually celebrate Christmas Eve rather than Christmas, so everyone everyone will get together and come midnight, that's when we open up
the presents and we share all of the fun things. Um, And I don't know if I have a favorite Christmas song. I might just have to go on the good, reliable and where I carry. But how about you? Yeah, same thing with my family. We typically celebrate on Christmas Eve. So I'm going to be at the game on Saturday, as will you, and I'm going to rush home to southern California to catch the tail end of a family get together. And then I think, I don't know if
I have a favorite Christmas song. All time favorite Christmas movie is The Home Alone, the original one, just because it's it's a classic and I watch it every year. That's a good one. But what's better than Christmas and football? This Saturday should be a fun day. Yeah, the two best things ever. I'm so excited for it. Right, All right, Well, that'll do it for today. Make sure you tune into the forty Niners You've Got Mail podcast on all platforms.
Kick off for Saturday's game against the Washington Commanders is that one oh five pan Pacific time at Levi Stadium, and you can catch the game on CBS. For more information on the latest team updates, check out the news on forty niners dot com. Don't forget to follow first and ten on Spotify. That's it for today, and you can hear from us again for a game recap on Monday morning. Thanks for tuning in m