Hall of Famer and 49ers legend Jerry Rice believes that if San Francisco’s 28-18 loss to Kansas City had happened during his era with the team, his teammates would have probably turned on each other. Like many Niners fans, Rice was frustrated with the outcome of Sunday’s highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch. The 62-year-old, who played 16 years in San Francisco from 1985 to 2000, expressed this during a scheduled radio appearance with 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast.” Rice said that the Niners looked like they were meeting the Chiefs for the first time and that the team “knew the importance of that football game and we didn’t rise to the occasion.” When host Bonta Hill asked him how Rice’s teams would have responded to the deficit the Niners faced Sunday, the Hall of Famer shared how he and his teammates would have acted if they had been in the same position.
“I’m going to be honest with you: If we played like the way we played yesterday, we would have probably been swinging on each other on the sidelines,” Rice said. “We would have been fighting each other. That was not 49ers standard right there.” For what it’s worth, the former receiver said his coaches would have called a simpler offense, with a focus on route-running and creating easy passing lanes, to “let these guys earn their money.” Rice even said the Niners should consider getting some reinforcements for the offense, especially in the wake of their bad injury luck.
“There are still some veteran guys out there – like a DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Williams, Diontae Johnson and stuff like that,” Rice said. “They might have to bring some other people in because I don’t know what happened with Deebo yesterday. … I don’t know what happened because I saw him warming up, and after that, that was it. We’ve got to get some guys on the field!” Anyone who saw the Niners play Sunday could have easily come away with similar thoughts on how the team performed. But given that these thoughts are coming from one of the greatest football players in NFL history, perhaps the Niners should give them some actual consideration.
