49ers Charvarius Wards performance is even more impressive given the backstory

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Charvarius Ward has a tough assignment Sunday, but you’ll have to forgive him if Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle haven’t been the first things on his mind this week.

Thursday, Ward’s newborn daughter finally came home from the hospital, ending a wrenching, two-week ordeal for the 49ers cornerback and his girlfriend, Monique.

You might remember that Ward missed the first two practices in Colorado Springs last month with what the 49ers called a personal matter. That matter began with an early-morning phone call from his girlfriend informing him that their daughter was coming … five weeks early.

Ward, who’d arrived in Colorado with the 49ers a day earlier, rushed back to Denver, an hour-and-a-half drive away, and was in Memphis, Tenn., at around 9 p.m. that Wednesday. Even then, there were several more hours of labor. The baby, Amani Joi, didn’t come until 1:15 a.m. Thursday and immediately needed oxygen to help her breathe. Ward said he was only able to hold her for a few minutes before she was hooked to tubes and monitors and placed in the neonatal intensive care unit.

He thought he’d be back with the team for its Friday practice, but there was a storm and delays and he didn’t return to Colorado until late that night. He was on hand for the week’s final practice the Saturday before the game, but that’s not much more than a walk-through.

“I didn’t break a sweat all week,” he said. “I was laying in a hospital bed with my girl.”

Which is to say, Ward didn’t get used to the thin, mountain air the way his teammates did, and it showed as soon as the team landed in Mexico City. Ward recalled going up a hotel elevator with general manager John Lynch and losing his breath.

When the game started, the combination of altitude, lack of sleep and worry converged. Ward dropped to a knee early on against the Cardinals and had to come out for a few plays. On the radio, the announcers thought he might have turned an ankle. The 49ers mistakenly announced he had hurt his groin.

“Nah, I just couldn’t breathe,” he said. “I was out of breath.”

Charvarius Ward had almost no time to acclimate to the thin Mexico City air before the game against the Cardinals. (Manuel Velasquez / Getty Images)

All of which puts into perspective his outings against DeAndre Hopkins and the Cardinals — he ended up playing 85 percent of the snaps that night — and in the shutout win against the Saints. Now he faces the biggest test of the season in Waddle and Hill, an ex-teammate with the Chiefs.

He’s not stressed. His overwhelming feelings this week have been relief and gratitude.

“I feel like already my baby has given me more heart — more love in my heart, more love in my body,” he said. “Not only for her but for other people as well.”

GO DEEPER

49ers defense doesn't feel like it has something to prove against explosive Dolphins

Hassan Ridgeway doesn’t get a lot of headlines, but the big defensive lineman got a special shoutout from Kyle Shanahan during a team review of the Saints game.

Ridgeway had a critical hit on Saints tight end Juwan Johnson in the end zone after it looked as if Johnson would snag a fumbled — and then batted upward — ball out of the air in the end zone late in the game. If so, it would have been a fluky, soul-sucking touchdown to bring the Saints to within six points in a game the 49ers defense had dominated to that point.

“It would have changed a lot of things,” Ridgeway said.

Instead, the 49ers’ heaviest defender hustled to the play and knocked the ball from Johnson; it was recovered by linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Ridgeway conceded he didn’t originally intend to dislodge the ball from the Saints player. He saw it floating above the goal line and envisioned touchdown glory.

“It popped into the air, and I said, ‘Oh, my God — I think I got me one!’” he said, laughing.

No matter the motivation, Shanahan lauded Ridgeway in the team meeting. Shanahan and defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans emphasize “being in the frame” — that is, running down the ball and showing up on film when the tackle is made. On that particular play, 7 1/2 defenders were in the frame when the ball popped out as opposed to 1 1/2 Saints.

Kyle Shanahan and DeMeco Ryan stress “being in the frame” (being around the ball) at the end of a play. Look how many 49ers are in the frame — including the two biggest d-linemen, Hassan Ridgeway and T.Y. McGill — on this fateful Alvin Kamara fumble. pic.twitter.com/KopAHtWtdL

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 1, 2022

“It took everyone,” Fred Warner said of the play. “You talk about Hassan coming out of the stack, just running after the football dead tired at the end of a drive. It was big time.”

Ridgeway has been among the unsung heroes on defense over the past two months. He has started every contest since Oct. 9 while Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw have been out with injuries. (Armstead is slated to return Sunday against the Dolphins.) He’s not a sack artist, but it’s no coincidence the 49ers haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since he’s been in the starting lineup. The most prolific opposing runner in that span has been Atlanta’s Caleb Huntley, who had 59 yards in Week 6.

Ridgeway has been in the league since 2016. He called the win over the Saints his favorite game ever.

“You don’t get a lot of those anymore,” he said. “First, you never get a game where you hold somebody to zero. But a low-scoring game like that that’s down to the last play, a sack at the end? It was a game that, as a defensive player, you were happy to be a part of. I enjoyed it.”

Not many observers think the 49ers can have a similar performance against a fast, aggressive Miami offense. If they do, however, they would make history.

Should San Francisco hold the Dolphins scoreless in the second half Sunday, it will be the fifth consecutive game in which the defense has accomplished that feat. The last team to do it: the 1937 New York Giants.

The record for fewest second-half points allowed in a non-strike-shortened NFL season is 56 by the Panthers defense in 1996, which was coached by Vic Fangio. The 49ers have given up 69 points so far — 28 of them in their Week 7 loss to the Chiefs.

GO DEEPER

How the 49ers' defense-wide ferocity at the goal line blanked the Saints

Something you’ve probably read or heard a lot this week: No quarterback has a better yards-per-attempt average this season than Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa. It’s not entirely true. Tagovailoa might have the best mark among regular starters, but one passer has a better overall average, and he happens to be in the 49ers locker room.

Third-stringer Jacob Eason, whom the 49ers acquired Nov. 15, is averaging 11.8 yards per attempt this season, the best in the NFL for a quarterback. Tagovailoa averages 9 yards.

“Because of him right over there,” Eason said when asked about his feat.

He was pointing to Christian McCaffrey, whose locker is perhaps 12 feet away from his. In Week 6, both players still were with the Panthers. Their starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield, was out with a high ankle sprain suffered a week earlier against the 49ers. The top backup at the time, P.J. Walker, went out with a neck injury late in the Week 6 game against the Rams. So in came Eason.

49ers third-string QB Jacob Eason played well in his one appearance for the Panthers this season. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)

He looked good in a limited amount of time, with his biggest play coming on a short pass over the middle that McCaffrey turned into a 49-yard gain.

Eason is a long, lanky 6-foot-6. When you see him in the locker room, your first thought is: Did they sign another tight end? He’s a powerful thrower, which caught Shanahan’s eye in the 2020 NFL Draft cycle.

“I remember a very talented arm — just how he can throw it, the velocity he has with it,” Shanahan said. “He’s up there in terms of throwers.”

The 49ers played a huge role in shaking Eason and McCaffrey loose from the Panthers. Their 37-15 rout of Carolina during which 49ers fans took over Bank of America Stadium seemed to be the final straw for then-head coach Matt Rhule and prompted the organization to rebuild and trade McCaffrey for draft picks.

“It was bad coming out of the tunnel with everyone booing us,” Eason recalled.

The 49ers also roughed up Mayfield so he couldn’t play, which allowed Eason to see his only action of the season the following week.

Several 49ers players will be wearing specially designed cleats Sunday to advance causes that are important to them. Left tackle Trent Williams will support the Sarcoma Foundation of America, and Kyle Juszczyk will highlight the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

Talanoa Hufanga will support the Tonga Red Cross, which has been dealing with tsunami destruction in the past year. Hufanga grew up in Oregon, but his father is from Tongatapu, Tonga’s largest island, and he raised Talanoa in a traditional way. The Hufangas have many family members in Tonga.

“It’s an opportunity to give back and do anything I can,” Hufanga said.

(Top photo of Charvarius Ward: Bob Donnan / USA Today)

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