It took a long time for San Francisco 49ers safety Jimmie Ward to finally sit down and watch Super Bowl LIV. He finally did so a couple of weeks ago and has watched the heartbreaking defeat about 20 times since.
The hardest part is watching the final few minutes of the game, and the 49ers' dramatic collapse after leading by 10 points and looking to be on their way to a sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
"How things played out, it was just tough," Ward said Thursday during a KNBR interview on the Murph & Mac show. "I just feel like we could have been better on offense and defense, and you've just still got to give the Chiefs credit. They were the better team on that Sunday."
Ward was asked about that deflating 3rd-and-15 play in the fourth quarter that saw Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense run "2-3 Jet Chip Wasp" and gain 44 yards—sparking a miraculous comeback. After reviewing the game several times, is there anything the 49ers safety would have changed on that play, if given the opportunity?
"Yeah, I would," Ward responded. "I wish I could have stayed more square. I would say that. How I practiced it, how we -- it's a certain play. It's a route that they love doing. And the crazy thing about that play, they ran it twice. They ran that same play twice, the more I watch it. But it was shorter (the second time)."
"... The second time they ran it, on the outside, I want to say that they put (Travis) Kelce on the outside. He ran a 15-yard dig, and I believe Tyreek (Hill) was that two or three, and he ended up running—like he kind of bent it in—a deep Post-Corner (route). So I understand what they were doing.
"They ended up getting us in the right call because we were in Cover 3 during that play. I don't know if they were expecting us to be in Cover 3 or what, but yeah, we probably could have made another call. That probably would have helped us out, but at the same time, it probably could have played out the same way.
"I have no idea how that would happen, but regarding the situation, if I had stayed square, it wouldn't have even been a play."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Ward below.
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