With their victory against the Cardinals on Sunday, the 49ers have now defeated both playoff clubs and pretenders in six straight games—six straight blowout victories, to be exact.
The 49ers have won their last three games by an average of 18.8 points. However, both head coach Kyle Shanahan and standout linebacker Fred Warner feel there is one persistent problem that needs to be fixed.
It would be the defense’s tendency to fail to make a tackle.
With 1,018 running yards allowed going into Week 15, the 49ers defence lead the NFL in this category. Throughout the season, they had allowed just three 100-yard rushing days, and not one during the winning run. At least until Sunday, when Arizona amassed 234 yards of total ground gain, with four different ballcarriers recording at least 25 yards.
Warner stated that going future, that must cease.
“Tackles that were missed. “Missed tackles,” he stated in his press conference following the match. “I look in the mirror, and I will always blame myself first because I have to set the bar high for everyone else.” In the event that a tackle is missed, we must ensure that players are reaching the football in order to bring him down. An excessive number of explosive runs. To be honest, that’s what stands out the most.
A prime example was the 44-yard touchdown run, which was Cardinals running back James Conner’s longest of the game, in the third quarter. Conner had a good hole to work with, but defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw got a hand on him and an opportunity to bring him down after he had gained five yards. Still, Conner managed to break loose and meander 39 more yards.
Another instance occurred during the fourth quarter, when the 49ers led 35–16 and it appeared as though the defence was dropping their guard. After receiving a handoff, running back Emari Demercado was tackled by three 49ers players, including Fred Warner, who had Demercado in his grip, but he was still able to break free and score a touchdown run that was 49 yards long.
