Rice rips 49ers for lack of competitiveness in loss to Cards

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Jerry Rice didn't mince words Monday morning after the 49ers' sloppy 24-20 season-opening loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. 

What frustrated the Hall of Fame receiver the most wasn't Jimmy Garoppolo's lack of execution, Kyle Shanahan's play calling or the defenses missed tackles. What it really had to do with was San Francisco's attitude and lack of competitiveness.

The 49ers were supposed to be defending their NFC championship belt on their home turf. What Rice saw was a team unprepared for battle. 

"When you look over and you see an opponent wearing a different jersey, it's time to compete -- it's time to go," Rice said on 95.7 The Game's "The Morning Show." "I didn't see that with the Niners yesterday.

"... For some reason, I don't know what that is, it's gonna be up to the Niners to find out why didn't we show up yesterday. Yeah, I understand, no preseason games. Now all of the sudden you're playing a regular-season game. The game goes to a who different level. I just feel like the Niners, they should have been ready to go ... a home game against a rival. 

"It was an important game. I was really disappointed in the execution of the Niners, and I just felt like they weren't where they needed to be."

Rice even called out an unnamed receiver.

The 49ers were without their top two receivers -- Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk -- to injury. Rice wanted to see the rest of the group step up. Instead, he saw antics that pissed him off.

"Something that really, really got me heated yesterday -- and I'm not gonna call any names or anything like that -- during the break they were playing music and we had certain guys dancing that hadn't done anything on the football field," Rice said. "They didn't have a reception or anything. That's not the standard of the San Francisco 49ers. If you want to dance or do whatever, you shouldn't be wearin' that uniform. You gotta be productive, you've gotta contribute to the team. And if you can't do that, go do something else.

"That pissed me off. The Niners are not about that. If you score a touchdown, you can do whatever you want. You can dance, you can break dance, I don't care. But if you're dancing and you haven't made a catch or anything, I have a problem with that."

Kendrick Bourne led all 49ers receivers with only two receptions for 34 yards. Trent Taylor, who missed all of last season, was the only other receiver to haul in a pass. He had two catches for seven yards.

RELATED: 49ers' Week 1 report card full of low grades after ugly loss

The season-opener certainly was a different atmosphere than the 49ers expected in a normal year, too. As they played in an unhealthy, smoky Levi's Stadium, no fans were allowed inside or in the parking lot, due to coronavirus concerns. This was supposed to be a big home-field advantage, not a silent stadium.

Rice does not want that to be used as an excuse, though. The defending NFC champions should be ready for Week 1, and he feels that simply didn't happen.

"You know what guys, we gotta stop using that as an excuse," Rice said. "We are paid professionals. This is what we do for our livelihood. Yes, we miss the fans. We would love for the fans to be in the stands.

"But if you cannot get up for a game against an opponent in your stadium, I got a problem with that."

The 49ers travel to face the New York Jets this Sunday, and Rice expects them to be much better than their Week 1 showing.

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