San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Chase Young couldn’t stand watching game film from his team’s comeback against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship.
Detroit buried the 49ers in a 24-7 hole for the first half, due in part to a strong running game. Young knows well the Kansas City Chiefs would capitalize on that kind of a lead in the Super Bowl on Sunday if the 49ers let such a defensive atrocity happen again.
“We know we have to do better. Have to do more,” Young told NBC Sports Bay Area on Monday at Super Bowl Opening Night. “We can’t have that. I can’t have that and everybody on the team knows we can’t have that. So, we’re going to do our best to make sure that never happens again.”
Young admits the sight of the Lions running game gashing his team was personal to him. Speculation of Young getting benched for the Super Bowl even surfaced last week.
Don’t watch Jahmyr Gibbs, watch Chase Young (No. 92). Nice effort in the NFC Championship Game. pic.twitter.com/z4QO5AwGH6
— Nick Geddes (@NickGeddesNews) January 29, 2024
“I can’t have that,” Young said about his efforts. “We definitely can’t have that on the field. Especially when you want to be a top defense in this league.”
That said, the 49ers shut down both the Lions and Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter of those playoff games. The 49ers defense gave up seven fourth quarter points in the NFC playoffs.
“Definitely knowing that, if we get in a tight spot, that we can buckle down and get it done,” Young said. “But I feel like these are the type of games where you can’t get down like that. So it’s our job to start fast and do our job from the start.”
Kyle Shanahan: ‘We Haven’t Done Very Well’
Young is far from alone addressing the defensive concerns. Head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the run defense in particular from the Lions game. Detroit piled on 148 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in that first half.
“Yeah, we haven’t done very well, it’s been the common theme, on them,” Shanahan told reporters on January 29. “But people are going to get the edge when they block down on a defensive end. I thought there was a couple ones.”
Steve Wilks on Lions Game: ‘Embarrassing’
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks likewise shared concerns. The Chiefs rank below the Lions in every major offensive category, but Kansas City has Super Bowl experience on its side.
“Collectively, as a team, I can tell you, as a defense, it’s unacceptable, all right?” Wilks told reporters on February 3. “We talked about that. I wish I could tell these guys on play four, on play 27, this is what’s going to happen. You don’t know. So we’ve got to make sure that we play every down as if it’s going to be the difference in the ball game.”
“And you could see on those particular plays, it wasn’t to our standard. Those guys understand and know that, and quite honestly, it was embarrassing,” Wilk added.
San Francisco gave up 30-plus points for the second time this season against the Lions. Kansas City only scored 30-plus points three times all season, but the Chiefs have a 3-0 mark in those games and 7-0 record if the team scores 25 or more points in a game this season.
