San Francisco 49ers: The good, bad, and ugly in preseason loss to Colts

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SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 17: Richard Sherman #25 of the Seattle Seahawks walks on the field during pregame warmups before the game against at CenturyLink Field on September 17, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images) /

Good: Richard Sherman

We can all probably exhale right about now. Cornerback Richard Sherman passed his first test with flying colors.

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Despite a video that went viral recently, showing Sherman getting torched during practice, he looked like a completely different player against Indianapolis. Showing no ill-effects from the ruptured Achilles that ended his 2017, and effectively ended his career in Seattle, after being drafted by the Seahawks back in 2011 – or the tweaked hamstring that kept him from playing in San Francisco’s first two exhibition games.

Against the Colts, Sherman played 34 defensive snaps and came through it just fine. Better than fine, actually. It was as if sensing that Sherman was ready to roll, Andrew Luck and the Colts offense stayed well clear of him – just like opposing offenses did back in his Legion of Boom days.

Luck tested Sherman once, on a first-and-10 pass targeted for Ryan Grant. It looked like it would be a clean connection until Sherman got his arm in on the pass and deflected it away. After that, Sherman pretty much had the rest of the night off as he wasn’t targeted again.

All of the initial signs are good. It was a positive outing for Sherman, who’s looking to bounce back and prove his detractors wrong – showing them, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he’s far from washed up.

He’ll, of course, need to get through the next few days to see how his body actually responds, but the arrow looks like it’s definitely pointing upward for Sherman and the 49ers – which is exceptionally good news because they desperately need his presence in the secondary.