The 49ers looked like they were going into the half against the Vikings trailing by one score and with momentum on their side. Minnesota with 16 seconds left in the second quarter had the ball on their own 40 and no timeouts after San Francisco had cut their lead to 10-7.
All the 49ers defense had to do was not give up a big play. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks decided to dial up some pressure and bring seven pass rushers on the third-and-6 play. The result was disastrous. Cornerback Charvarius Ward whiffed an interception which led to a 60-yard touchdown for Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison that gave the home team momentum and a 16-7 lead.
According to ESPN Next Gen Stats it was the first time a team sent seven pass rushers in the final 30 seconds of a half and the ball in opponent territory since Week 11 of the 2020 season.
After the game head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t sound thrilled with the call.
“That’s stuff we’ll discuss throughout this week,” Shanahan said. “Obviously I did not like the result.”
There’s tape to watch and conversations to be had between coaches, but it’s hard to imagine there’ll be much justification for the call from Wilks. The one thing that can’t happen in that scenario is a long completion and the defensive coordinator left his cornerback on an island and susceptible to a long completion.
Letting Cousins sit back and have his choice of underneath throws would’ve been a much more favorable process than the one Wilks’ hyper-aggressive blitz rendered.
Ultimately if Ward comes down with the interception the play gets viewed much differently, but that play was a microcosm of Monday’s loss. The Vikings were just better in a big spot. They thrived on third down in part because San Francisco’s pass rush couldn’t get home, and Wilks felt the need to generate additional pressure on that play.
Shanahan and Wilks will need to get on the same page quickly. They have a quick turnaround to Sunday where they’ll face a high-powered Bengals offense that’s coming off its bye week.
