Why Warner labels 49ers’ win vs. Cowboys as ‘bittersweet’

Why Warner labels 49ers’ win vs. Cowboys as ‘bittersweet’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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It’s always sweet for the 49ers Faithful when San Francisco (or any team, really) beats the Dallas Cowboys.

But after their most recent dub under bright prime-time lights, 49ers star linebacker Fred Warner confessed he had mixed emotions about the 30-24 win at Levi’s Stadium.

“Bittersweet, bittersweet,” Warner said when asked to explain what he was feeling on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” postgame broadcast. “Man, the way we ended. You know how it goes. Defensively, I know what it takes to be a Super Bowl-caliber team. I know we have that in us.

“Defensively, we had some mental lapses there at the end. We should’ve been on the bench sipping Kool-Aid, but hey, that’s the NFL.”

Warner, a known perfectionist, wasn’t pleased with how his unit closed out the win.

It’s hard to blame him.

With the 49ers falling victim to several late collapses this season, Warner didn’t want to take any chances. After locking up Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Dallas’ offense for most of the game, a couple of busted coverages late in the game gave the Cowboys an opportunity to make a late comeback in the fourth quarter.

Dallas entered the fourth quarter down by 17 points but scored consecutive touchdowns to cut the deficit to six.

At the end of the night, the 49ers walked away with a win. But Warner is looking at the big picture and how the defense’s performance late in the game doesn’t live up to their standards — his standards.

At halftime when the 49ers were down 10-6, Warner admitted he “said a few words to the team” that helped spark their second-half turnaround. It worked.

Now, perhaps, he will give the defense a pep talk before the 49ers return to action after their Week 9 bye and face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 10.

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