San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner plans to watch this weekend's Wild Card games at home with his wife and dogs, doing some early scouting before learning which opponent his team will face in the Divisional Playoff round. The 49ers will face one of four teams—the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, or Green Bay Packers.
San Francisco will hold two full practices this week. What's the strategy for entering those sessions while the next opponent remains unknown?
"I think you do a little bit of self-scout," Warner told NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco after Sunday's regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams. "You look at things that may have hurt us throughout the end of this season on either side of the ball. You focus on those things, sure up any of those little things that you want to make sure you're at your best when your best is needed because there is no seven-game series in the playoffs. You got to play the very best you can for three hours straight, and that's going to be our main focus regardless of the opponent."
Tackle Trent Williams isn't ready to start thinking about which team he will face next.
"At this point, it'll kind of drive yourself crazy trying to think of who you're going to play next," Williams told reporters. "I don't think that should be our worry these next four to five days, six, seven days. I think we should just worry about getting out there, running around, making each other better, and just competing. We got a couple of practices we can compete against each other, just make each other better."
While the 49ers' offense finished the season ranked second in total yards, the defense ranked eighth, a notable decline from its top ranking last season. San Francisco's defense performed well against the run, ranking third, but it was 14th against the pass.
Warner expects defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and the staff to find ways to solidify things heading into the playoffs.
"I just know I have really high expectations for myself and the defense because if we truly do want to win a championship, I think defense wins championships, and our offense has been playing lights out all season long," Warner said. "The amount of playmakers and the way [QB] Brock [Purdy] is playing is outstanding. It's just going to be on us to make sure that we hold teams to nothing."
The good news is that the 49ers allowed the third-fewest points this season (491) and limited opponents to 19 or fewer points in six of their last nine games. They surrendered 21 points to the Rams on Sunday, but the game was treated like a preseason match, with the 49ers having already locked up the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
When asked about his body's condition after a long and demanding season, Warner commented, "It's feeling great after today. Barely got touched."
Warner played only 12 snaps in Sunday's loss to the Rams.