Much of the blame for the San Francisco 49ers' fourth-quarter collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV has been directed at quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Despite seemingly being on track for an MVP performance, some missed opportunities late in the game are viewed as catalysts for the defeat.
Cornerback Richard Sherman, who joined KNBR on Wednesday, feels placing the blame solely on Garoppolo is unfair, and has his own theory on why his quarterback has to deal with so much criticism.
"It's just barber-shop talk," Sherman said on the Murph and Mac show. "It's just something to have a topic. I think it's foolish. I think we had the No. 2 scoring offense in the league. Regardless, usually, the quarterback of that scoring offense gets a ton of credit.
"But I think people understand Kyle's (Shanahan) acumen, his pedigree, and what he does well. No matter what, there's always a great play-caller.
"In Kansas City, (offensive coordinator) Eric (Bieniemy) is doing a fantastic job. (Head coach) Andy Reid is fantastic in play-calling. But you don't see them taking Pat's (Mahomes) acclaim away from him. He's an incredibly talented player. He's a great quarterback. Those are great play-callers.
"We have the same situation. We have a great quarterback. We have great play-callers. That's why both teams played for the Super Bowl."
Sherman doesn't blame Garoppolo for the Super Bowl collapse. Instead, he believes the criticism should be placed elsewhere.
"When I'm speaking about it, I can't go back to anybody but myself," Sherman said. "I gave up three grabs in that game. ... I could have played better. I need to play better. When you hear them blaming Jimmy, Jimmy doesn't play defense. We had a 10-point lead. We get the guy a stop, we win the game.
"So those are things you go into the offseason and know you have to correct, and you have to work hard. It pushes you to work hard. It pushes you to fight to do extra reps to make sure that you don't let the mistake happen again.
Added Sherman: "Jimmy played fine. He did what he was supposed to do. We've got to finish that game out. I've got to finish that game out. I've got to do what I'm supposed to do. I'm an All-Pro player. I've got to play All-Pro down the stretch."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Sherman below.