SANTA CLARA — Midway through the third quarter of Monday’s 49ers-Giants game, Eli Manning connected with Odell Beckham Jr. for a 20-yard TD pass to cut San Francisco’s lead to three points. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was matched-up against Beckham on the play, and reacted strongly after the fact, waiving his arms around while seeming to indicate that he was supposed to have safety help over the top.
ODELL BECKHAM JR!
Got ’em ?
?: #NYGvsSF on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/3Z5Rc8a0ET
— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2018
After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked if he was okay with Witherspoon’s reaction. He didn’t mince words.
“No I am not,” Shanahan said. “No. Man up. Don’t put that on tape, we’ll deal with it when we come in.”
Witherspoon said Shanahan hadn’t talked to him about the incident, but agreed that it’s not acceptable.
“No but I understand that,” Witherspoon said. “I know that. Playing corner I know I’ve got to be better than that, and it’s just something I’ve got to improve on.”
Fellow cornerback Richard Sherman echoed Shanahan’s sentiments, but also explained that Witherspoon should’ve had help on the play.
Yeah you should never do that,” Sherman said of Witherspoon’s reaction. “That’s like a cardinal rule in football. He’s frustrated because it’s two-man, you’re expecting guys to be where they’re supposed to be. Unfortunately we didn’t get the personnel that we needed to on the field.
“It was a bust. It was a coverage bust, and he played it like he was supposed to play it. It’s unfortunate. It was a good call, it should have been a good play. In two man you’ve got to play it like he played it.”