On Sunday, Fred Warner and the San Francisco 49ers suffered their first defeat of the 2023 season on the road against the Cleveland Browns. Although Warner and his defensive teammates mostly played well, a combination of injuries and mistakes cost the 49ers big time on the afternoon, as they fell by a final score of 19-17 following a late missed field goal from Jake Moody.

After the game, Warner spoke on the loss and what it means for his 49ers going forward.

“They earned it and we didn’t this game. I would never put it on Moody at the end there,” said Warner, per 95.7 The Game. “It’s great we had an opportunity to win in that fashion but we didn’t earn it.”

Warner went on to explain why the tough contest might bode well in some ways for the 49ers going forward.

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“In order for us to be the team that we want to be going forward, we had to get battle-tested,” said Warner. “We need to get battle tested. That's exactly what today was. We'll learn from it. Watch the tape, look at it hard internally, and be better from it.”

Star skill positional players Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel left the game early with injuries. It had been smooth sailing for Fred Warner and the 49ers up to Sunday's game, but the injuries as well as late-game defensive penalties opened the door for the Browns to pull off the upset victory.

The 49ers will look to bounce back against the Minnesota Vikings on October 23.