The San Francisco 49ers fell to the Minnesota Vikings 22-17 on Monday, giving them their second loss in a row, not to mention some significant concerns moving forward.
While many still likely consider them legitimate Super Bowl contenders, their once-vaunted defense is now looking vulnerable.
Their pass rush was missing in action on Monday, and their secondary has looked more and more vulnerable lately.
On one play late in the second quarter, the Niners went with a massive blitz, and when Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins completed a pass to rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison, their secondary was undermanned and gave up a 60-yard touchdown to Addison.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has been criticized for that decision to mount a zero blitz, which led head coach Kyle Shanahan to publicly comment that Wilks “messed up,” yet James Jones said on Fox Sports 1’s “Speak” that Shanahan is to blame for “creating questions” for others.
.@89JonesNTAF reacts to Niners DC Steve Wilks’ comments on his zero-blitz call and places blame on Shanahan for putting him in that position
“Never create questions for your teammates… You [Kyle Shanahan] just created questions for your coach with the comments that you said.” pic.twitter.com/0j7RstO5n0
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) October 27, 2023
Wilks is in his first season as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, a position that was held by DeMeco Ryans the previous two seasons.
Defense has been their calling card for a while now, and last season, they were unquestionably the NFL’s best defensive team as they reached the NFC Championship Game for the third time in four seasons.
As long as second-year quarterback Brock Purdy is the real deal (he threw two late interceptions versus the Vikings), the time is now for the Niners to finally win their sixth Super Bowl championship.
Barring injury, they have run out of excuses, and their fan base has grown restless for them to make good on their Quest For Six.
NEXT:
Insider Reveals What Brock Purdy Must Do To Play Sunday
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