‘Best in the World’: Fred Warner stands tall as a bright spot in 49ers loss to Vikings

If the San Francisco 49ers would have been able to find a way to come out of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis with a win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, perhaps no player would have deserved more credit than linebacker Fred Warner.

Warner was perhaps the biggest bright spot for the 49ers in their 23-17 loss to the Vikings as he totaled nine sacks, one tackle for loss, one interception, and two forced fumbles, one of which kept the 49ers within striking distance late in the game. After totaling seven tackles and a forced fumble in a 32-19 win over the New York Jets in Week 1, Warner's performance on Sunday makes it clear he could be well on his way towards one of his best seasons as a pro.

"Fred's playing like a Hall of Famer, best in the world, Defensive Player of the Year right now," cornerback Charvarius Ward told reporters following Sunday's game (via David Lombardi/The Athletic). "He's our leader; everybody's got to try to pick it up like he's doing and follow his lead. But Fred, he's playing like the best in the world, which he is."

Warner's interception came on a highlight play late in the first half with the Vikings leading 10-0. Warner dove to intercept a pass from Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, then got off the turf to return the ball to the 35-yard line, setting up a possession that led to the first 49ers touchdown of the game.

The forced fumble came with the Vikings leading 20-7 late in the third quarter and put a stop to a potential scoring drive that might have put the game out of reach. The fumble was recovered by cornerback Isaac Yiadom at the 1-yard line, after which the 49ers went on a 99-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 20-14.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan credited Warner with singlehandedly giving the 49ers an opportunity to stay in the game.

"The two turnovers were huge," Shanahan said. "That's what gave us a chance."

For Warner, his performance on Sunday was just another day at the office.

"I mean, I've always put a lot of pressure on myself," Warner said. "You know, I have the utmost confidence in my abilities, and it's not me trying to make anything up. It's about just me trying to do my job, and when the play is there, it's about just me making it. I know my teammates rely on me to make those type of plays, so it's just another day."

Warner has long been recognized as perhaps the main leader on a roster with no shortage of veteran players known for having strong leadership. Not surprisingly, Warner's teammates were effusive in their praise of the 27-year-old three-time first-team All-Pro following the game, saying he's looking better than ever in his seventh NFL season.

"He's playing at an even higher level than he has in the past, which is saying a lot," defensive end Nick Bosa said. "So it's fun to play with him. He's like my security blanket out there. Just knowing he's there is huge. And he doesn't get too high when things are going good or too low and things are going bad, which is what you want from a leader."

Safety Ji'Ayir Brown said of Warner, "Greatest linebacker in the league. Greatest linebacker from approach to mindset to the way he plays, playstyle. I have nothing bad to say about Fred Warner whatsoever. He does everything the right way."

Warner, as he often does, put Sunday's loss on his own shoulders and searched for ways he and the team could have done better. He shared some of the message he sent to his team after the game with reporters, saying he told them the loss came down to not doing a good enough job in the mental aspect of the game.

"It just hurts my soul, honestly, because we knew exactly the type of game that it was going to be, what was going to be required for us to win this game," Warner said. "And I told the team in there, it's never going to be an issue of us playing hard. We always play hard. We got so much talent in that room. We're always going to play hard, but it's about playing smarter.

"You know, we gotta, we gotta protect the football, obviously, we gotta take it away on defense, special teams, we can't give up that block punt, and then defensively, you know the game plan when we say we gotta stop the run and we gotta be great on third down. We don't do either of those things, it's gonna be a long day, you know what I'm saying? We didn't do anything to help ourselves in this game, and obviously they played better than us."

Even though things didn't go the way he wanted in terms of the final result, Sunday's game showed fans could be in for a treat this season whenever Warner steps on the field. And even though only two games are in the books, it's not too early to say Warner will absolutely be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year if he continues his current level of play throughout the season.

"I think I've been saying it since, like, his second year -- All-Pro Fred," tight end George Kittle said. "He just puts it on tape every single day. He's a fantastic football player. Leads the defense, always has the energy. He's everything you want in a 49er, you know? And the way that he plays is the standard for the defense. And he does a really good job, too, of calling guys out when they aren't playing at the standard that he expects out of them, too. So he's everything you want in a mic linebacker, and as a teammate."