The San Francisco 49ers have reached Super Bowl LVIII after defeating the Detroit Lions, who were themselves having a stellar season. However, their defense received attention as they had a narrow victory.
Steve Wilks, the defensive coordinator of the 49ers squad, had called the play “unacceptable” and “embarrassing” according to ESPN. San Francisco safety Tashaun Gipson shared his thoughts regarding the defense and stated, “That’s something that never needs to be coached. That’s something that never needs to be addressed. … Obviously, everybody on that film can at some point on one of those plays point themselves out and said, ‘Man, I could have played with better effort on that.’ … That film was hard.”
“You had to see that and you had to hear some choice words, because that’s not our brand of football. We are a lot better football team than that. It’s nothing I’m worried about moving forward.”
The issues were later highlighted by Wilks due to their narrow escape from the Lions squad. Javon Hargrave, the defensive tackle, said the defense unit had their “heads down” as watching the film later was disappointing for them.
Kyle Shanahan, the head coach, also pointed out the issues the defense had during the NFC Championship game. The defensive end, Chase Young, also shared, “The only thing we’re worried about is doing our job every play and preparing for this game the best we can. We have got to do better. You’re going to see it this game.”
The linebacker, Dre Greenlaw, also expressed, “I think the most important thing is just how we felt about it as a team. I agree to the fullest extent. I felt like we could play harder, and I felt like I could play harder too. So, you’ve got to look at yourself too. That’s really what it boils down to.”
