Wilks vows 49ers defense’s corrections will be made vs. Chiefs

SANTA CLARA — At the midpoint of the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers' defense and its coordinator, Steve Wilks, were in line to take the brunt of the criticism. The Detroit Lions piled up 280 yards of offense and scored 24 points in the first 30 minutes of Sunday's game. The 49ers' defense could not get off the field, allowing the Lions to convert on third-down distances of 9, 10, 12, 18 and 7 yards. "The men in that locker room, I knew for a fact we were going to win that football game," Wilks told NBC Sports Bay Area after the game. "And it wasn't really a lot of yelling and screaming. We talked about the things we had to correct, and everybody just had to do their job." The Lions failed to score any points on their first four possessions of the second half. Detroit was stopped on downs, lost a fumble, punted and had a second turnover on downs. "It started up front," Wilks said. "The D-line took control. We started playing a little bit more man-to-man (pass coverage), which allowed our linebackers to get downhill." The first big momentum swing in the 49ers' favor occurred when Lions coach Dan Campbell opted to go for it on fourth and 2 from the 49ers' 28, rather than attempt...