The defense looking worse against the undrafted rookie backup than they did against the first round starter was a troubling development but I'm willing to chalk it up to the specific game planning for Fields and not knowing what to expect from Bagent in the quick-change.
In the end, they did the majority of the heavy lifting in order for the team to win & keep the faint aspirations of the postseason alive. With Jordan Hicks' third quarter scoop & score they've now had two fumble recovery touchdowns in one season for the first time since 2018.
It was the crescendo to a well orchestrated piece by Brian Flores with the finishing note being the interception by Byron Murphy. If they can continue to find the same sort of music against San Francisco that they had against Chicago & Carolina then the life support will be less relevant!
Unfortunately, the Jefferson-less offense was not nearly as successful in making it's own sweet sounds. The Jordan Addison touchdown reception in the closing seconds of the first half were the best they could do to harmonize with Flores' portion. We also learned that they still haven't gotten the ball-security issue of their collective system yet as Cousins coughed up the ball.
If the performance as whole still has you wanting to throw in the towel on the season, I can't blame you. They did enough to win but didn't show enough to prove that they are even just as good as their record. The win likely means that whatever fire-sale may have been contemplated is now off the table.
But it's not in the trash just yet.
A loss of any sort to San Francisco & the likes of Hunter & Hicks & other capable veterans could be the subject of phone calls.
So really, we learned nothing. At best what the team had already shown us was further confirmed, both positively & negatively. It's a rather dissatisfying conclusion but it's the truest one.
B-
It's only that high because of the defense
D
They're getting by but it's still very much on a razor's edge
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