Murphy's law is typically quoted as stating, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."
That's what Sunday probably felt like for the San Francisco 49ers. The team committed five turnovers on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, yet overcame the costly mistakes.
Cornerback Richard Sherman has been in his share of close games during which his team had to display resilience. Sunday was another example of that. Yet, the 49ers remained confident and reached 3-0 for the first time since 1998.
Sherman is proud of how the team responded. It wasn't too long ago, last season in fact, that the 49ers would have easily lost a game like this. Now, they have won two like it this season.
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"It doesn't matter if we score a gazillion points and have no turnovers or have five turnovers and get the win," Sherman told reporters after the 24-20 victory. "As long as we have more points than them at the end."
Even after several turnovers, Sherman said that the attitude on the sideline remained unchanged.
"One thing we pride ourselves on is being the same," Sherman said. "Regardless (if it is) good, bad, or indifferent, you have to approach the game the same way. It was probably more enthusiastic when we got the turnovers than it was when we didn't.
"When our offense gave a turnover and put us in a hard spot, we took it as Murphy's law. We took it as Murphy's law, and you want to slap Murphy in the face, and we did that today."
Two of the turnovers came off Jimmy Garoppolo-thrown passes. The quarterback tossed interceptions against the Steelers after a couple of unfortunate bounces.
The stats won't show it but that might have been Garoppolo's best game as a Niner. Constantly stood in the pocket and made good throws with pressure in his face, was able to extend several plays with his feet, and threw an absolute dime for the game-winning TD. #49ers
— Jeff Deeney (@PFF_Jeff) September 22, 2019
Still, that doesn't bother Sherman and the defense, who remain eager to prove how good the unit is this season.
"I tell Jimmy before every game, 'Just sling it, and we'll get it back to you, man. You sling it, and we'll get it back, regardless of what happens, regardless of circumstance,'" Sherman continued. "And our defense did a great job. You've got to give credit to our front. You've got to give credit to Kwon (Alexander), to Fred (Warner), to (Dre) Greenlaw. You've got to give credit to the backend, Ahkello (Witherspoon), (Jaquiski) Tartt, myself, K'Waun (Williams), Tarvarius (Moore).
"Everybody played well, and they played their part, and we appreciate it. Nobody was bothered. Nobody was frazzled. Nobody pointed the finger, and that's what you've got to do. You can't point the finger. You can't ever point the finger. You just accept the situation for what it is, and you move forward."
The 49ers enter their bye week now. Yes, a Week 4 bye week. The team won't play another game until Monday, October 7 when it hosts the Cleveland Browns at Levi's Stadium.
Sherman welcomes the bye week, even as early as it is, because it means the 49ers get to heal up and return healthier. For now, Sherman and his teammates will savor this victory, as unconventional as it was, and then enjoy some much-deserved time off.
"It's never perfect, and we didn't play perfect today, but our record's perfect," Sherman noted.
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