SF 49ers Jimmie Ward: ‘Best way to learn is by failing at something’

SF 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward joined the Jim Rome show this week, explaining how a crushing loss in Super Bowl LIV can do the Niners some good.

When the SF 49ers walked off the field after blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV, few could have felt the sting of the defeat more than veteran defensive back Jimmie Ward.

Ward was, after all, one of the players involved in that now-infamous 3rd-and-15 conversion from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, sparking Kansas City’s epic comeback and sending Niners fans everywhere home in disbelief and disgust.

And while fellow defensive back Emmanuel Moseley might have been primarily responsible for the blown coverage, Ward hasn’t shied away from taking some responsibility, too.

Even though he took more than enough time to go back and watch the game back. When he did, however, Ward studied the game multiple, multiple times to learn from the mistakes, both his and his team’s in general.

“I needed to watch that. I needed to learn from my mistakes,” Ward said on the Jim Rome Show this week. “Hopefully the rest of the guys ended up watching it, too. I wanted to just learn. And the best way to learn is by getting beat or failing at something. The next time you see it, you’ll make the correction.”

Ward’s play in the game wasn’t indicative of how the SF 49ers felt about him, though. After being a major reason why the Niners still boasted the league’s top defense against the pass, San Francisco subsequently re-signed him to a three-year, $28.5 million contract during the offseason.

Doing so, the team will retain its starting safety tandem of Ward and Jaquiski Tartt, the latter entering his own contract year in 2020.

But Ward isn’t overly concerned or worried about what happens next season. Instead, the focus is on how the 49ers get back to the Super Bowl and win it this time.

“We need to finish as a group. As a whole,” Ward added. “We had the game in our hands and we let it go. I feel like we need to get more turnovers, and in press coverage, we need to get our hands on some guys.”

Ironically, the Niners picked off Mahomes twice in the game, the second going into the waiting arms of Ward’s teammate, Tarvarius Moore, which at the time seemed to be the game-sealing play.

Until that 3rd-and-15 happened, of course.

“It’s a terrible feeling,” Ward said of the loss. And one can only hope he and the SF 49ers have a chance to rectify that this upcoming February.