Patrick Peterson talked the talk. Ultimately, he didn’t walk the walk. After predicting an interception and strong performance against Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers offense, Peterson was picked on for a pair of touchdowns in Sunday’s 30-7 loss. He appeared on another episode of his All Things Covered podcast with co-host Bryant McFadden to explain what happened, specifically on the pair of scores he allowed.
“The first one, I could’ve been in better position now looking at the film,” Peterson told the show. “I was a little too deep in the end zone for one. I should’ve made him run through me to allow him to get into his route. With me not understanding, too deep in the end zone to allow him easy access to cut…for me, that was a bonehead play on my behalf. That’s almost Football 101. Dino concept, double-post concept.”
Here’s the first score from the All-22 view. You can see the stack to help create the easy and free release. Peterson expands with outside leverage with safety help inside but loses his footing as Aiyuk makes his break. Peterson didn’t comment on the slippage, though he noted after the game he quickly changed his cleats.
“The second one, I knew the route,” Peterson said. “I knew the back-shoulder fade was coming. I should’ve looked earlier for the play. If I look back earlier, I believe – I don’t think – I could’ve have an opportunity to intercept that ball. Or at least a [pass breakup.]”
Here’s the second score, the jump ball to Aiyuk. Peterson had trouble locating the ball, but Aiyuk made a great play to track it and get both feet inbounds for the score.
According to our charting, Peterson ended the day allowing three catches on five targets for 58 yards and those two touchdowns. To his credit, the two incompletions were breakups on his part that highlighted his “tells” of the 49ers’ offense, breaking well on the ball over the middle and knocking the ball away. He nearly had an interception on one of them.
But the NFL is a results-oriented business, and the two touchdowns stand out above the rest. Peterson and the rest of this defense (and the rest of the team) must play better going forward. If there’s a silver lining, a slip and improbable grab were the two touchdowns he allowed. He wasn’t burned downfield, wasn’t fooled by a crafty double-move he couldn’t recover from. His mistakes are fixable.
Still, excuses run short in this league and Peterson will have to raise his standard Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, facing Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, and rookie Cedric Tillman. The Browns are coming off a big Week One, though they did their damage with a stifling defense and ground game, rushing for over 200 yards in a 24-3 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.
