San Francisco 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson addressed the media ahead of Thursday's practice, revealing that he hadn't yet received any communication from the NFL regarding the controversial hit on wide receiver Elijah Moore. This hit led to an unnecessary roughness penalty in the closing moments of Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns.
In the heat of the action, it looked like the flag on Gipson's vicious hit might have been warranted. However, replays showed that the safety appeared to do everything by the book, and the penalty might not have been warranted.
Moore didn't come away with the football, and the play would have set up a 4th-and-1 with just minutes remaining as the 49ers held onto a one-point lead. Instead, the Browns were gifted a fresh set of downs, and the drive ended with a field goal, giving Cleveland the late lead.
"It was definitely tough," Gipson remarked. "When everything happened, it was a bang-bang play. But once you watch the replays and things like that, slow motion, it makes it worse because, as a competitor, you look and you see, what else would I would do different? I don't know.
"But the league is about protecting players. I don't think that I did nothing viciously or dirty to draw the flag. It's just football."
Gipson is not harping on the situation, instead redirecting his focus toward Monday night's opponent, the Minnesota Vikings. Nevertheless, he knows the play ended up being costly.
Quarterback Brock Purdy and the offense did manage to put together a nice drive in the end, positioning the 49ers for a potential game-winning field goal. Unfortunately, rookie Jake Moody's kick sailed wide right, ending San Francisco's 15-game regular-season winning streak.
"Everything is a trickle-down effect," Gipson shared. "If that play (his hit and penalty) don't happen, maybe Moody don't have to be forced to kick the game-winning field goal. So, obviously, I'm sure he would say he would like to have that kick back. I would like to have my play back.
"But at the end of the day, you get to move on. You've got eleven games. We're still sitting where we want to be. Obviously, it's not the end of the season. It's not costing us much right now. But it just sucks when you feel like you have a hand in going towards that loss."
Gipson knows he has the support of his locker room. Nevertheless, after the game, despite knowing he executed the hit on Moore flawlessly, he was plagued by guilt due to the eventual outcome.
"That's a terrible feeling to go through, giving them extra downs," Gipson admitted. "And for them to be able to come away with points, it's just a terrible feeling to feel. You feel like you let your teammates down. No matter what they say, personally, I felt like I let those guys down. It was a dog fight, where every play counted, and that was just a big moment in the game. So, I feel like I let those guys down.
"Obviously, it's tough. It's obviously tough. You want to say just move on, and that's exactly what we're doing now. But when you go back, and you watch the game, and you see it, and how the game unfolded ... all of the celebrating, things like that, that one play could have easily been the deciding factor in a game."
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