The San Francisco 49ers entered the middle of the NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
However, the team came back and won 34-31.Bad decisions by Lions coach Dan Campbell led to Detroit’s downfall. But there were also major changes to the Niners defense that helped turn things around for the team.49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward was a guest on “The Jim Rome Show” on Wednesday.
During the interview, Rom asked Ward what adjustments the team made in the second half. Ward said 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks started calling more man-to-man defense instead of zone defense before the second half.
“Coach (Steve) Wilkes came to us because he thought we needed to play more guys. In the first half we played in many areas. The linebackers couldn’t get downfield in the run game. So Coach Wilkes came in at halftime and called more guys. It definitely worked,” Ward said.
The Lions’ only points of the second half came with 56 seconds left. Of course, things could have been different if Detroit had chosen to punt and not go for it on fourth down, but San Francisco’s defense was much better in the second half.
Ward is in his second season with the Niners. In the regular season, he recorded 72 tackles, 5 interceptions and earned his first Pro Bowl selection. Wilkes will put him and the Niners in good defensive position.
