Fred Warner had some pointed and honest comments for his 49ers teammates after a frustrating 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Speaking to the assembled media after the game, the three-time All-Pro explained what he told the team.
“I told the team in there that it’s never going to be an issue of us playing hard, we always play hard,” Warner said. “We got so much talent in that room, we’re always going to play hard. But it’s about playing smarter, we have to protect the football, on special teams, we can’t give up that blocked punt. And then defensively the game plan, when we say we got to stop the run and got to be good on third down and we don’t do either of those things, it’s going to be a long day.”
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"We're always going to play hard, but it's about playing smarter."
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 15, 2024
Fred Warner illustrates how the 49ers' defense needs to adjust pic.twitter.com/JFH3JHrsKU
While Warner played at a level befitting an All-Pro, the rest of San Francisco’s defense struggled to contain former 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold and the Vikings due to sloppy play.
The most egregious of these blunders was the 97-yard touchdown bomb safety Ji'Ayir Brown gave up to Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson, which completely changed the game's tenor.
Throw in a blocked punt and loads of offensive miscues to go along with some questionable fourth-down decision-making by coach Kyle Shanahan, and you had all the makings for a debilitating loss.
San Francisco 49ers
While the 49ers still are not fully healthy, the team had plenty of chances to take control of the game. Each time San Francisco needed a defensive stop or a big offensive play, it came up short, opening the door for Minnesota to take control.
Now the 49ers sit at 1-1 in the early stages of the 2024 NFL season, with a divisional matchup against the Los Angeles Rams looming large next Sunday.