I think they were supporting him in response to media criticism, Winston apologized to DA so even he accepts that he crossed a line (even if it was for a teammate).
Fans are fickle, they wanted to fire Tomlin and ship out George Pickens for not playing hard enough after a three game losing streak in Pittsburg. Now things are great again with Tomlin after they won out and made the playoffs, and Pickens is no longer a bum after having 300+ yards and 2 TD’s in the last two games he appeared in.