49ers reach peak dysfunction during Week 12 game vs. Packers

The 49ers actually committed too-many-men-on-the-field penalties on back-to-back plays against the Packers.

Inexplicable. Inexcusable. Undescribable.

The San Francisco 49ers were already playing the Green Bay Packers with one proverbial hand tied behind their back, missing quarterback Brock Purdy (and a slew of other necessary talents) because of injury.

And with the Niners defense having no answers for running back Josh Jacobs and the Packers' ground game, defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen needed to figure out ways to stop Jacobs, quarterback Jordan Love and the Green Bay offense.

Putting 12 defenders on the field isn't exactly a solution.

Doing it twice in a row is football blasphemy.

49ers commit back-to-back 12-men-on-the-field penalties on defense

It might be understandable if a defense gets flagged for too many men on the field because of a hurry-up snap by the opposing offense.

And that's what happened on the first of two instances where San Francisco was flagged for having too many defenders on the field. Fortunately for Sorensen and Co., the Packers also committed an illegal-shift penalty on the same play toward the middle of the second quarter of Week 12's contest.

That made linebacker De'Vondre Campbell feel better, as he was the one trying to get off the field in time. One play later, though, 12 defenders were still on the field when Love took the snap.

No penalty on Green Bay that time, but back-to-back too-many-defender penalties on San Francisco.

Junior varsity kind of stuff there.

Granted, almost nothing has gone right for the 49ers in Week 12, who quickly found themselves trailing 17-0 after the particular drive in question.

If anything, though, the Niners' demise for much of 2024 is only magnified by such a boneheaded duo of defensive miscues.

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