Warner: 49ers' defense not 'good enough' during playoff run
The San Francisco 49ers may be playing in Super Bowl LVIII, but linebacker Fred Warner isn't too pleased with the defense's quality of play in the postseason.
"Not good enough," Warner said Thursday. "Not good enough at all. ... As long as I've been here, we've relied heavily on winning games on defense, holding teams to minimal points, suffocating teams, dictating how the game is going to go based off of how we go. And that hasn't been the case."
The Niners surrendered 21 points to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round and then allowed 31 points to the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game.
Their 26 points allowed per game is much higher than their regular-season mark of 17.5. The Niners have been particularly susceptible to defending the run after being gashed for an average of 159 yards per game this postseason.
Warner said the Super Bowl matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs will present the 49ers an opportunity to "correct" the issues that have plagued them over recent weeks.
"They're probably looking at the tape, they're thinking they have a great opportunity ahead, as they should," Warner said.
The first-team All-Pro defender attributed the defensive unit's struggles to a combination of factors, including execution.
The last time San Francisco met Kansas City in the Super Bowl, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led a furious comeback with three touchdowns in the final 6:13 of the game to secure a 31-20 win. The results of that 2020 Super Bowl matchup have stuck with Warner ever since.
"That scarred me for life. Now to this day, it doesn't matter if it's preseason, regular season, (or) playoff game: I never start getting excited until that clock hits zero," he said.
While the Chiefs will bring plenty of familiar faces to the Super Bowl LIV rematch, Warner says the game will feature "two completely different teams" that'll each have new faces on either side of the line of scrimmage.
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