The Arizona Cardinals went into Levi's Stadium on Sunday and upset the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers 24-20. It was not the start Richard Sherman and his team wanted for what they hoped would be a bounce-back season in response to February's Super Bowl defeat.
Sherman was asked after the game what the 49ers can take away from the loss, and what it might mean for the team moving forward.
"It just comes down to executing down the stretch," Sherman responded. "Any time you get to play, we got to knock the rust off some things, some communication things we have to do better, but I think overall, we feel good about where we are.
"They played a good game. They made some plays at the end. [Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray] made some plays with his legs that made it tough and compromised the defense. But I think it was a great learning experience for everybody, and it will help us in the future."
The 49ers head into a two-game road stretch against the New York Jets and Giants. The team will travel to the East Coast next weekend for the first road game, and then stay the week and practice at The Greenbrier in West Virginia before the second consecutive game at MetLife Stadium.
As for Arizona, it wasn't just the athletic Murray who the 49ers had to deal with. San Francisco had to figure out a way to stop new Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who torched last year's No. 1 pass defense for 151 yards on 14 catches.
Despite the gaudy statistics, the 49ers' veteran cornerback didn't feel Hopkins changed the Cardinals offense too much.
"Honestly, he didn't bring much different than what they were already running," Sherman told reporters. "He's more sure-handed. He's a guy that's going to make the plays that are there, make the contested catches, but it wasn't like they put in new wrinkles for him, and said, 'Hey, we're just going to isolate him, and give him the ball.'
"Even last year, when they had a single to the X, that's where they're going. So it didn't matter if it was DeAndre Hopkins or Keyshawn Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald or (Christian) Kirk, that's the way their offense is run. In that regard, he's just a big-time playmaker that they put in a spot that they use often."
Despite stating that Sunday provided an opportunity to "knock the rust off," Sherman insists that the lack of a preseason didn't contribute to the 49ers' performance on Sunday.
"I don't think tackling was the big issue today," Sherman added. "I think there was communication, there was some lapses in that, that we've just got to get cleaned up."
