The San Francisco 49ers may not have come away with a victory on Sunday, but the team learned a lot about its rookie linebacker who started against the Minnesota Vikings. Fred Warner finished the game with 12 combined tackles and a forced fumble, which was recovered by cornerback Richard Sherman.


While it was an impressive outing for the first-year linebacker, Warner told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area after the game that he wished he had a faster start.


The 49ers defense played well, allowing just 17 points to the Vikings offense. Some poor tackling, however, opened up opportunities for the opposing offense during the 24-16 defeat.

"We obviously have to give them all the credit (they are due)," Warner said. "They came out and outplayed us. They played harder for longer, and they won the turnover battle. What I take away from this game is we for sure did this to ourselves in a lot of ways, especially on defense.

"I feel like we have an outstanding team. We have all the guys. We have the mindset. We just need to make sure we go out and do it on Sundays."

The 49ers will take the season-opening defeat and try to learn from it. The team's focus shifts to preparing for its home opener against the Detroit Lions next weekend.


"The biggest thing we've just got to work on is our effort and tackling," Warner said. "I feel like that was the biggest thing we needed to take away from this game."


Warner hopes to get off to a faster start and make even more plays during his next outing.

"This is a learning experience that we've got to grow off of real quick," he added.

Warner may have started the game because of injuries to the lineup and the two-game suspension of Reuben Foster, but the rookie proved on Sunday that he deserves to remain on the field. Fans have to be excited at the prospect of Warner starting next to Foster when the second-year linebacker returns in a couple of weeks.

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