While several 49ers are on a quest to avenge their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs after the 2019 season, cornerback Charvarius Ward finds himself in a different boat. Ward was part of that Kansas City team that came back from a 20-10 deficit to defeat the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
In an appearance on ‘Third and Long,’ Ward revealed that the 49ers played right into the Chiefs’ defense’s hands when they abandoned their run game in the fourth quarter.
“The game plan was to put the ball in Jimmy (Garoppolo)’s hands, man,” Ward told Third and Long host, 49ers defensive tackle Arik Armstead. “I hate to say this. Our game plan was to put the ball in Jimmy’s hands, but Kyle Shanahan, he was just calling run after run. For some reason in the fourth quarter they stopped running the ball, and we kinda took over a little bit.
“I don’t want to say too much about it because I’m part of the organization now. Going into the game we were extremely confident, but once y’all came out doing all that y’all were doing, we were like ‘(expletive) these boys are kinda good. We gotta like man up and thud up.’ And that’s kinda like what we did in the fourth quarter.”
It was clear in the fourth quarter that Kansas City was focused on stopping the 49ers’ rushing attack. Defensive end Terrell Suggs, at that point in his career a run stopper, spent a ton of time on the field to try and help a defense that allowed 88 rushing yards on 12 first-half carries. Through three quarters the 49ers had 109 rushing yards on 17 attempts. San Francisco won the third quarter 10-0 to take a 20-10 lead into the final 15 minutes.
That’s when the Chiefs’ plan to put the ball in Garoppolo’s hands worked. By selling out to stop the run they pushed Shanahan into a pass-happy set of play calls. The 49ers in the fourth quarter ran it five times for 39 yards.
After the Chiefs made it 20-17, the 49ers ran it once with RB Raheem Mostert for five yards. Then they threw it twice, both incomplete, and punted.
Kansas City then made it 24-20 with 2:44 to go. Mostert again opened the drive with a 17-yard run. A false start on WR Emmanuel Sanders made it first-and-15, but the 49ers still managed to get a first down at the Chiefs’ 49 after a couple throws. They never ran it again and turned it over on downs, effectively ending the game.
It was pretty clear during the game what Kansas City (and any team playing the 49ers) wanted to do to defend them, and Ward’s confirmation just makes it all the more baffling that the 49ers would so willingly play into their hands.
Perhaps a more dynamic passing attack with Brock Purdy under center will help the 49ers avoid becoming too one-dimensional because of defensive personnel.
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