49ers' Kyle Shanahan gives surprising answer when asked if rookie RB was supposed to slide on 76-yard run

Isaac Guerendo had one of the biggest plays of the game on Thursday when he broke free for a 76-yard run during the fourth quarter of San Francisco's 36-24 win over Seattle. 

Guerendo's big play has created quite the debate in the 49ers locker room. The rookie running back claims he was told to slide on the play, but as it turns out, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan would have preferred to see him score a touchdown. 

Here's what the situation looked like: With just under two minutes left to play, the 49ers were leading 29-24 and they were looking to melt the clock down to end the game. Taking a knee wasn't an option, because the Seahawks had three timeouts, so they called a run play on first down and that's when Guerendo exploded for 76 yards. 

The 49ers backup running back likely could have scored on the play, but instead, he decided to slide to the ground. At least that's what he claims (It's definitely possible that Devon Witherspoon simply caught him from behind). 

"Once I looked to the sideline, everyone was like, 'Get down,' so I had to make a business decision right there [to slide]," Guerendo said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. 

Sometimes, it makes sense to slide in an end-of-game situation. If the trailing team is down to one timeout or no timeouts, then it makes sense to slide after gaining a first down, because then your team can just take a knee and end the game. However, that wasn't the case here. After Guerendo went down, the Seahawks still had two timeouts with 1:24 left. With the 49ers sitting at Seattle's 5-yard line, there was no way to get a first down, which means, if Seattle had been able to force San Francisco to kick a field goal, the Seahawks could have gotten the ball back with about 35 seconds left to play in what would have been a one-score game (If the 49ers had kicked a field goal, they would have been up eight). 

With all of that in mind, was Guerendo supposed to slide? Apparently, the answer is no. 

After the game, Kyle Shanahan admitted that he would have preferred to see Guerendo score a touchdown. 

"Hell no, we want him to score," Shanahan said when asked if he told the rookie to slide. 

The 49ers coach then hilariously added that he thinks Guerendo was caught from behind. 

"I don't think he slid. That's what he's claiming," Shanahan said. 

Deebo Samuel was shocked that Guerendo went to the ground. Samuel said he would have scored the touchdown. 

"I don't know why he didn't score. I would have scored," Samuel said following the win. "He said he was looking at the sideline and people were telling him to go down. I don't know why he was looking at the sideline anyway."

If Guerendo had scored, he would have crossed the 100-yard mark, but instead, the rookie finished with 10 carries for 99 yards. 

In the end, it all worked out for the 49ers: Kyle Juszczyk ended up scoring on a 6-yard run with 1:17 left to ice the win for San Francisco.