They were heroes in the end, but they took a battering.
Writing this after the San Francisco 49ers' epic Sunday Night Football win over the Chicago Bears seems somewhat churlish, but here we are.
I get this critique a lot, largely because I'm often critical of coordinator Robert Saleh's defensive unit, a criticism that's only intensified over the last few weeks, as San Francisco has looked completely unable to stop offensive units from as poor as the Tennessee Titans to as high-octane as last nights Caleb Williams-led corps.