Denver Broncos starting safety Justin Simmons was asked on First & 10 at 10 on Orange and Blue 760 on Wednesday about the defense’s breakdown in the first half against the San Francisco 49ers.
Being down 20-0 at halftime was not ideal, but Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods laid into the team at halftime and they came out a completely different unit in the second half.
“I was very disappointed in terms of how we played in the first half,” Woods said on Wednesday. “I talked to the guys and we addressed it on Tuesday. In the first half we gave up 20 points, Kittle had 210 yards receiving—really three plays for 170—and we had eight penalties. We had five penalties in that two-minute drive. I don’t know what it was. We weren’t ready to play. Guys were pressing because in the second half there were zero points, Kittle had zero yards and we had zero penalties. We had a discussion—or I should say I had a discussion with them—at halftime and they turned things around, but we can’t do that and expect to win games.”
It’s just one of those things where the team came out flat and though they turned things around defensively, it wasn’t enough as the offense sputtered and struggled all game long.
Simmons went on to talk about his adjustment to playing cornerback and how much he has leaned on Chris Harris Jr. to be successful in that position.