In early October 2024, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Arizona Cardinals. This was after they had blown a game to the Los Angeles Rams a few weeks prior due to some mental miscues and missed field goals, and a lot of questions were piling up about the team as a whole and their ability to finish. They managed to embarrass the Dallas Cowboys, but there was something wrong, whether you wanted to admit it.

Up 13 points to start the second half, the 49ers blew the lead and lost 24-23, highlighted by a fourth-and-five play where Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw a floater off his back foot and found someone despite the eons of airtime it had to be picked off or batted down. Who shouldered the blame was a talking point following the game: was it the defense that blew a 13-point lead in

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