Mike Zimmer had basically two courses of action after his team allowed 208 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in a 34-26 loss with substantial playoff consequences; he could either admit his team was outplayed in a physical loss, or he could complain about the refereeing.
Zimmer chose the latter option, saying that the 49ers hold constantly in the run game.
“These guys hold all the time, so they’re grabbing us around the waist, grabbing our backs,” Zimmer said. “Officials, they don’t want to call it every play. Until they start calling it every play, they’re not going to stop doing it.”
George Kittle laughed off that criticism.
“Hmm, ‘I get away with a lot of holding.’ I think if you’re running your feet and your hands to the side, just because a guy spins and flails his arms, it’s not holding. He’s just flopping… It’s football. Refs throw flags. Refs don’t throw flags. It’s just the game. If you’re going to sit on the sideline and complain about holding the whole time, then tell your guys to make better plays.”