The San Francisco 49ers suffered a pretty devastating loss in the first quarter of Super Bowl LVIII when star linebacker Dre Greenlaw went down with an injury, and a series of statistics highlight just how big of a loss it truly was.
As the San Francisco 49ers fan account Coach Yac pointed out on social media, Oren Burks struggled mightily in replacement of Dre Greenlaw after he left the game with an injury.
“Once Dre Greenlaw went down, Oren Burks filled in for him. Here’s how he did in coverage:
• 9 targets
• 9 catches allowed
• 1 touchdown
• 134.7 passer rating when targeted
• 32.1 PFF coverage grade,” Coach Yac said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
Once Dre Greenlaw went down, Oren Burks filled in for him. Here’s how he did in coverage:
• 9 targets
• 9 catches allowed
• 1 touchdown
• 134.7 passer rating when targeted
• 32.1 PFF coverage grade pic.twitter.com/UKjwtqeFpt— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) February 12, 2024
Obviously, this is some pretty horrible news that shows just how big of a loss Greenlaw was to the team when he went down with an injury early in the Super Bowl, and these stats led to a lot of reactions on social media as a result.
Packers legend knew the way to finally beat the 49ers was an inside job #Respect https://t.co/osiylaSU2t
— Caleb Rothacher (@calebroth7) February 13, 2024
No one noticed when Huf went down because Ji’Ayir Brown did a great job stepping in.
The reality is that the linebacker depth was not there behind Fred and Dre and that is why I have been pushing for new backups for years now.
Dre would have helped. But it was still winnable. https://t.co/qNKR12dBxS
— Josh (🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈ALLY) #BLM #CMCISANINER (@SharksJosh95) February 12, 2024
dee winters is next up until dre is cleared from his achilles https://t.co/qxdWJtqNrZ
— jake (@jshoultz19) February 12, 2024
The difference in the game. If you wrote a movie script saying a star defender would tear his Achilles walking on the field and his replacement would get torched allowing the other team to comeback and win, studio execs would make rewrite it in a more believable way. https://t.co/d5khRXkpLt
— Levin T. Black GSN49ers (@TakesByLevin) February 12, 2024
Common law, when somebody gets hurt target his replacement immediately. https://t.co/8jssVE3Wvz
— King Budha (@TheKidCorey_) February 13, 2024
i feel terrible for dre greenlaw. such an unfortunate injury when he was balling.…& honestly i feel terrible for burks as well.
as a competitor, you’re always hoping to get your number called, but there’s not always that storybook moment. most of the time this happens. tough. https://t.co/zrg77DFFAL
— Kyron Samuels (@kyronsamuels) February 12, 2024
It feels like another missed opportunity for the Niners, especially with an unfortunate injury causing so many problems for the team in such a massive game. We’ll have to see how the Niners rebound from this disappointing loss next season.
