LAS VEGAS -- The NFC Championship is mostly in the rear view for the San Francisco 49ers, who now have the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs to account for in Super Bowl LVIII. But Kyle Shanahan's squad still uses its conference title game for one reason: to learn from what defensive coordinator Steve Wilks recently deemed "unacceptable" and "embarrassing" effort.
Pass rusher Chase Young made the rounds on social media after broadcast footage caught him appearing to slow up rather than pursue a Detroit Lions ball-carrier in the conference championship, and since then, Wilks hasn't been the only prominent voice to confirm the 49ers' effort needs work. Both Shanahan and Young admitted every level of the "D" needs to eliminate an increasingly passive approach to tackling, and several veterans continued the emphasis Tuesday.
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"Obviously, everybody on that film can at some point (to) one of those plays, point themselves out and (say), 'Man, I could have played with better effort on that,'" safety Tashaun Gipson said, per ESPN. "That film was hard. You had to see that and you had to hear some choice words, because that's not our brand of football. We are a lot better football team than that. It's nothing I'm worried about moving forward."
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave said as much while addressing reporters from the 49ers' team hotel Tuesday.
"Everybody's gotta run to the ball," he said, "so of course they called us out about some of the plays in the game and basically told us, 'It can't happen no more.'"
The 49ers have until Sunday to get themselves ready for a cleaner performance. That's when Super Bowl LVIII against the Chiefs kicks off on CBS, Paramount+ and Nickelodeon at 6:30 p.m. ET.
