The San Francisco 49ers demolished their divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, 27-7 to open their 2026 NFL campaign.
It’s the dream start to the season, especially considering the 49ers were reportedly lobbied by the Rams to travel to the other side of the world for this matchup, only to watch Los Angeles suffer a humiliating defeat.
There were plenty of takeaways from this matchup, but one player stood out above the rest, making history and setting yet another franchise record in red and gold.
Fred Warner makes history yet again for the 49ers, this time overtaking Patrick Willis to become the all-time leading tackler in franchise history.
This new record was always going to happen in Week 1 this year. Don’t forget that Warner was restricted to just six games last season, cutting short what would have been another incredible year.
Injuries are never nice, but the motivation heading into this matchup likely would have never been greater, considering he couldn’t return to last year’s NFC Championship Game as the 49ers lost out heavily to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round.
Warner entered the game with 948 total tackles. After recording 11 in the season opener, he now sits at 959, overtaking Patrick Willis’ 950 to become the 49ers’ all-time leader in tackles.
Willis undoubtedly would have finished with even more tackles if he hadn’t retired early, but Warner is now on a trajectory that could make his franchise records extremely difficult for anyone to beat.
And this isn’t the first time Warner has surpassed one of Willis’ records. Last season, if you remember, he broke Willis’ franchise record for forced fumbles, adding another piece of San Francisco history to a debatable Hall of Fame résumé.
Warner will turn 30 in November and his Week 1 performance against one of the strongest teams on the schedule showed he has no signs of regressing.
He finished the game with 11 total tackles, five solo and six assisted, as well as one forced fumble, the 18th of his career.
Let’s be honest, as far as I’m concerned, he’s one of the best talents to ever grace San Francisco. Few have had the same impact during the Kyle Shanahan era as much as him.
Trusty, reliable, a strong leader of men and someone you want leading the lines, Warner is the heart and soul of this 49ers defense.
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