MIAMI, Fla. -- Four-time All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman has played in the big game, losing 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.
Loyal to the team that drafted him in 2010, Bowman is picking the 49ers to win this time around. He did have some advice for the team that will ring true for head coach Kyle Shanahan: Don’t take your foot off the pedal.
“When they get up by points, they relax a lot,” Bowman told NBC Sports Bay Area on Friday. “I think in this game, it’s not going to be able to happen. Like, you got to stay on it the entire game.”
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Bowman detailed what he felt would be the keys for the 49ers' defense to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I think the front seven has to touch Patrick very early,” Bowman said. “If they don’t, it’s going to be a long day. I think the DBs have to be on the same page communicating every single play so that nothing surprises them.
“Speed kills, so once it gets on top of you it’s too late. That’s really the main thing honestly. If they’re not communicating every single play, it’s going to be a long day because no one on the defense is as fast as Tyreek Hill.”
Bowman also noted that the 49ers cannot come out slow like his team did in New Orleans in 2013. The team also needs to be ready for the adversity that is inevitable in every game.
San Francisco 49ers
“We faced it when the lights went out,” Bowman said. “I was like, ‘Damn, I thought we was prepared to play this game.’ We was down 20 some points. They can get on you fast. I just hope these guys come out ready to play.”
Looking back at that game, Bowman doesn’t know why the slow start happened but believes that the current 49er roster has an element that will keep them from being lackadaisical.
“Honestly I think about it a lot, but I don’t really know exactly what I can point to to say this is why that happened,” Bowman said. “I think when you have a lot different personalities on a team it’s kind of hard to get them all focused on the same thing. I think it took maybe a half for us to wake up and get back on track. We fought back. It was a great game.
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“You got to be disciplined. It starts early in the year. build that trust where you know that person is doing what he’s supposed to be doing and you don’t have to hold their hand throughout the year or at big events like this.”
From top to bottom in the 49ers organization, they talk about how special the locker room is. There is a closeness and support of each other that Bowman has taken notice of, even from the outside.
“You got a good group now that you know that’s a little more safer than our group was,” Bowman said. “I think that’s why this team is back in the Super Bowl so early because they have a group of guys that care about one goal, and that’s what it takes to be great.”