The San Francisco 49ers’ sluggish, clumsy loss to the Cincinnati Bengals has plenty of fault to go around. Many people are focusing on the defense and the 400+ yards given up by the Bengals offense. Many others are watching Brock Purdy’s troubles and whether he can win the game while the defense is struggling.
In his postgame press conference, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said the defense had Purdy’s back when questioned about his recent problems.
“The thing is, the quarterback will always bear the brunt of the criticism.” Brock is the last thing on my mind. Brock is made of strong stuff. Can he better defend the ball? True, but he’s the reason we have a chance to win. Every single game we play. The common denominator right now is that I haven’t been able to say after the last three losses,’man, the defense had our greatest performance, we just happened to lose.’ We’re not playing decent football on our side, which is why we haven’t won the previous three games, and that needs to change. And it will be resolved.”
The offense hasn’t been kind to the defense, frequently turning the ball over in bad field position, as it did on Sunday. The defense is not blaming anyone. The 49ers are dealing with a number of challenges, and a single move will not solve them. Starting Sam Darnold will not solve the defensive problems.
It would be a different conversation if the defense felt they were playing their best games. While they’ve made a few stops, their play has been unusual for a 49ers defense. The Bengals’ running back Joe Mixon finished the day averaging 5.4 yards per carry thanks to the run defense.
Purdy’s defense has always had his back. While it is commendable that they are shouldering the criticism, it is vital to remember that the 49ers have far too many flaws to pin on one player or side of the ball.
