The San Francisco 49ers put in a dominating performance on Sunday as the team beat the New England Patriots 33-6 at Gillette Stadium. The 49ers defense kept the Patriots out of the end zone while hauling in four interceptions.
One of those interceptions went into Fred Warner's arms. The third-year linebacker finished the game with seven tackles and a pass defensed to go along with the pick. That was enough for NBC Sports writer Peter King to name Warner among his Defensive Players of the Week.
King wrote the following of Warner:
"'I try to find a flaw in Fred Warner,' Tony Romo said Sunday. 'I can't.' Warner shined with seven tackles and a diving interception of a befuddled Cam Newton. (And maybe he was befuddled, at least in part, because the 49ers made him befuddled.) Warner was all over the field in Foxboro, and at one point, the injured Richard Sherman tweeted, 'ALL PRO FRED.' Might be his time."
The other players named as King's Defensive Players of the Week were linebacker Isaiah Simmons of the Arizona Cardinals, linebacker Devin White of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and pass rusher T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 49ers run game put up 197 rushing yards against the Patriots and scored four rushing touchdowns between the running backs and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. rushed for a career-high 112 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. It was enough to earn him a FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week award nomination.
Despite the injuries the running backs (and nearly every other position) have endured, position coach Bobby Turner keeps the group productive. That made him King's Coach of the Week.
King wrote the following of Turner:
"Kyle Shanahan was 15 when he met Turner, the RB coach on his dad's Denver staff in 1995. Terrell Davis thanks his lucky stars he was coached by Turner on his way to the Hall of Fame. And when Kyle Shanahan got the Niners' job in 2017, he had to have Turner come with him. Now 71, Turner is excellent at finding low-valued running backs and making something of them. With injuries plaguing the backfield in San Francisco, Turner got two undrafted free-agents, Jeff Wilson Jr. and JaMycal Hasty, ready for a road test at New England. By halftime, they combined for 112 tough rushing yards and the 49ers had a commanding 23-3 lead. For the game, Wilson and Hasty ran it 26 times for 169 yards and three TDs."
