49ers passing defense needs to be better

With the exception of cornerback Richard Sherman who played at the level of the All-Pro that he is, the pass defense gave up too many big plays that kept the Lions in the game.

From wide receiver Kenny Golladay’s first-quarter touchdown after cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon bit on a fake to receiver, Golden Tate’s 67-yard catch and run that set up on San Francisco’s 10-yard line. From the constant targeting of the defense’s right side to the touchdown pass to tight end Michael Roberts.

It wasn’t a good showing for the secondary.

It was easily Witherspoon’s worst game of his career so far. And it doesn’t help that he will only continue to be targeted, as Sherman commands the opposite side of the field.

Sherman spoke more on this being a letdown for him as far as team performance goes:

A win’s a win. It feels like a loss to me. It’s 30-13 going into the fourth quarter, we got to execute down the stretch. It’s a humbling lesson. Thank goodness we got the win out of it. There’s a lot of good tape, a lot of good learning for us. I think it’s going to be a humbling experience for a lot of our players.

Hopefully, the team can correct these mistakes when they face the Chiefs at Kansas City in Week 3. They’re a team featuring a quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, who’s coming off of a six passing-touchdown performance. So the secondary is going to need to come together against this high-powered offense.