NFC Notes: Puka Nacua, Kyle Shanahan, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan was asked if the loss to the Chiefs was any different than any of his past shortcomings in the Super Bowl.

“There’s nothing different to say, I mean I don’t care how you lose when you lose Super Bowls, especially ones you think you can pull off, it hurts,” Shanahan said, via Pro Football Talk. “When you’re in the NFL, I think every team should hurt, except for one at the end. We’ve gotten pretty damn close, but we haven’t pulled it off. We’re hurting right now, but it doesn’t take away from how proud of our guys I am. I’m really proud of them today, too. As part of sports, as part of football, as part of life, as part of life. I’m glad we put ourselves out there. I love our team. We’ll recover, and we’ll be back next year strong.”

Rams

Rams WR Puka Nacua had a monumental season as a rookie for Los Angeles and joked that he felt the year aged him. as well as recalled his “Welcome to the NFL” moment which involved Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence.

“Old, like I aged 25 years,” Nacua said, via Pro Football Talk. “It’s been a really long year and then those 18 weeks just really lasted a long time, but it was nice to lay down on my bed and . . . not wake up at 6:00 in the morning and be like, ‘Alright, I gotta go hit the cold tub and the ice tub to start the body going.’ So I laid down flat, got all the extra pillows stuffed up between my shoulders and stuff was like, ‘I’m going to sleep in today.’”

“We do a lot of crack toss stuff and I was involved,” Nacua added. “Coach was like, ‘Yeah, you can go out there and get that one block done, Puka,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, Coach!’ And then we line up and I’m like, ‘Why did he grow seven more inches? What the heck?’ And then I went to go hit the block and it’s like in slow motion. I can remember so vivid. He grabbed both my wrists. Like left hand, right hand. Grabbed both my wrists and threw me like a rag doll five yards. And then it was a six-yard loss and I just remember, like, ‘Coach is gonna kill me. That was not how that play was . . . drawn.’”

Nacua saw Lawrence at the Pro Bowl and asked him if he remembered the play.

“I had to let him know because I was like, ‘I don’t know if you remember this, probably an everyday play for you,’ but I was like, ‘I pride myself in blocking. You threw me like I was a little kid.’ He was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I don’t really remember that.’ I was like, ‘Man, that makes me feel worse.’”

Seahawks

• Tom Pelissero reports that the Seahawks have finalized the hiring of Scott Huff as their new OL coach.