Nick Bosa

Why 49ers' defensive ‘nerve' vs. Giants made Chad Johnson want to cry

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Former NFL star Chad Johnson has seen a lot of things on the gridiron over the years, but the 49ers had him on the verge of tears in their 30-12 defeat of the New York Giants on Thursday night at Levi's Stadium.

The Giants, missing star running back Saquon Barkley, mustered just 150 total net yards in the Week 3 matchup, compared to the 49ers' mark of 441. Johnson was upset by New York's lack of creativity, he said, which allowed San Francisco's defense to "disrespect" their opponent with man-to-man coverage.

"[The Giants] have to make Daniel Jones' job easier, because leaving it in his hands to be a quarterback and sit back there and do what he needs to do with [49ers defensive end Nick] Bosa coming off the edge and the rest of that 49ers defense playing well, ain't going to happen," Johnson told Shannon Sharpe during the "Nightcap with Unc and Ocho" show on Friday.

"I wanted to cry, and I'm not trying to be funny. I know I play around a lot, but I felt bad. The fact that the 49ers had the nerve on third down -- almost every down -- until it got to the fourth quarter, they played man-to-man with one safety in the middle of the field and said, 'Let me see you get open.' That hurt me."

Johnson laid into the Giants' apparent lack of game plan and implied their quarterback Jones isn't worth his $40 million-per-year contract. And as a six-time Pro Bowl receiver, watching New York's wideouts get bullied on Thursday clearly left Johnson upset.

"I saw multiple times from quarter one to quarter three on third down -- and a few second downs -- the 49ers' defense playing man-to-man across the board, and nobody could get open," Johnson told Sharpe. "That's a sign of disrespect to that receiver room."

The 49ers' vaunted defensive line -- with a five-man front sprinkled in at times -- left Jones little time to get the ball out to his pass-catchers, even if they had been able to break free from San Francisco's secondary. The Giants quarterback went viral for looking close to tears himself Thursday, as New York's offense wasn't able to get the job done.

And if Johnson plans on watching this stacked 49ers roster again this season, he might want to keep the tissues handy.

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