Fred Warner: 49ers Have to Find Ways to Win ‘The Grimy Games’ After Loss to Vikings

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Following a second consecutive one-score loss on Monday night, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner stressed the importance of being able to win tightly contested affairs.

In the wake of a 22-17 road loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Warner said the following about the team needing to figure out how to overcome adversity, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner: “I think the thing right now is we’ve got to find ways to win the grimy games, the ones where it’s not looking great and find a way. Obviously, we can win, 30-10, but who are we and what are we going to do when we’re down and we’ve got to come back and win a game?”

The Niners started the season 5-0 and were the dominant force in the NFL, but after back-to-back road losses of 19-17 to the Cleveland Browns and 22-17 to the Vikings, it has raised questions about whether the 49ers are built for crunch time.

San Francisco made some uncharacteristic mistakes Monday night, including sending an all-out blitz in the closing seconds of the first half, resulting in Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins hitting Jordan Addison for a 60-yard touchdown that gave Minnesota a 16-7 lead entering halftime.

The Niners whittled the deficit down to five early in the fourth quarter, and they had no shortage of opportunities to take the lead and win the game.

Quarterback Brock Purdy entered the game having thrown only one interception all season, but he was picked off on each of the 49ers’ final two possessions, sealing the win for the Vikings.

Purdy’s first interception of the season came last week against the Browns, and it also happened to be the worst performance of his young career, as he went just 12-of-27 for 125 yards with one touchdown and one pick.

Even so, Purdy drove the 49ers down the field for what would have been a game-winning field goal, but rookie kicker Jake Moody missed from 41 yards out, resulting in Purdy’s first career regular-season loss as a starter.

Purdy was better on Monday, going 21-of-30 for 272 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, but the San Francisco offense mustered only 17 points for the second consecutive week.

Even with back-to-back losses, the 49ers still have the best point differential in the league at plus-92, which speaks to how dominant they were over the first five weeks.

The 49ers won their first five games by an average of 19.8 points per contest, and only one of them was a one-score game, which suggests they may not exactly be battle tested.

Perhaps the biggest issue to consider coming off two straight one-score losses is whether the San Francisco offense is able to operate efficiently when coming from behind rather than playing for ahead.

The 49ers played with substantial leads throughout the first five weeks, which allowed them to pound the rock with superstar running back Christian McCaffrey and build off of that with playaction passing from Purdy to open pass-catchers.

When it becomes more obvious that Purdy has to pass the ball, that could be where the Niners get into trouble offensively.

A comeback win would possibly do a lot of good for the 49ers’ overall psyche after the way the past two games have gone, but they will undoubtedly be happy with any kind of win they can get when they host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8 on Sunday.