The San Francisco 49ers went into halftime of the NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions trailing 24-7 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday. Yet the team was able to come back and prevail 34-31.
Some bad decisions by Lions head coach Dan Campbell haunted Detroit during their collapse. But there was also a big change the Niners’ defense made that helped the team turn things around.
49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward was a guest on “The Jim Rome Show” on Wednesday. During the interview, Rome asked Ward what adjustments the team made in the second half. Ward said that 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks started calling more man-to-man defense rather than zone defense for the second half.
“Coach (Steve) Wilks came in like we gotta play a lot more man. The first half, we was playing a lot of zone. The linebackers wasn’t able to get downhill in the running game. So Coach Wilks came at halftime and called a lot more man. Obviously it worked,” Ward said.
The only points the Lions scored in the second half came on their touchdown with 56 seconds left. Of course, things might have been different had Detroit chosen to attempt field goals and not go for it on some 4th down plays, but San Francisco’s defense played much better in the second half.
Ward is in his second season with the Niners. He had 72 tackles and 5 interceptions during the regular season, and was rewarded with his first Pro Bowl selection. And it sounds like Wilks is putting him and the Niners in good positions on defense.
