San Francisco LB Fred Warner Reveals Strategy To Stop Ravens QB Lamar Jackson: 'He Can Hurt You'
It's a matchup between two teams with the best records in the NFL. It's Week 16, it's Christmas, and it's Monday Night Football. Nothing could make this game more exciting to viewers.
Except this: San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner vs. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Lamar Jackson (L) and Fred Warner
Warner discussed the difficulties of game planning for Jackson in the upcoming contest.
“When he is running, yeah, he can hurt you with his legs, but he can also hurt you by running [and] then look down the field and throw an explosive pass on you, that sort of thing,” Warner said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “And him being more aware of wanting to stay in the pocket and deliver the football to the receivers, playmakers.
“So you can’t just sit there and say, ‘Hey, just hold him in the pocket. Don’t let him get loose.’ You hold him in the pocket, and you don’t apply pressure, then he’s going to hit you deep. So that’s where it’s like, we got to be on top of every little detail this week.”
Jackson won the NFL MVP back in 2019. He's dealt with nagging injuries and missed time in each season since. But this year, he's been healthy and played almost every offensive snap. Through 14 games this season, he's thrown for 3,105 yards while completing 66. 3 percent of his passes with 17 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He's also run for 741 yards on 135 carries with five touchdowns on the ground.
While Warner is probably accurate in his assessment of Jackson's game, the 49ers will need to come up with some strategy to slow him down in what could be a Super Bowl preview on Monday Night.
