For the second successive week, cornerback Charvarius Ward was a standout player as the San Francisco 49ers earned a crucial win in the NFC playoff race.

Having locked down DK Metcalf during the Niners' Thanksgiving win over the Seattle Seahawks, Ward was excellent again as San Francisco routed the Philadelphia Eagles 42-19 in a rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game.

Consistently matched up with A.J. Brown, Ward registered four pass breakups in Week 13, including two in coverage against the Eagles' top receiver, the first coming on the opening drive as San Francisco kept Philadelphia out of the endzone on two successive red zone possessions.

That performance took his tally for the season to 19, a league-leading total that puts him one shy of tying Walt Harris (2006) for the most by a 49ers defender since the 1999 season (Pro Football Reference's data does not go back any further).

Ward is on pace to finish the season with 26 passes defensed, which would put him in a tie for the fourth-most in the NFL since the '99 campaign.

Allowing a passer rating of 77.3 that is the second-lowest of his career, Ward is enjoying on All-Pro caliber season in his second year with the Niners, though the former Kansas City Chiefs corner concedes there is an area where he can improve.

Despite impressing in knocking the ball away at the catch point, Ward has only two interceptions to his name in 2023, a total he is eager to increase.

"Hopefully I can turn some of those pass deflections and pass breakups into interceptions and make big plays," Ward said after the win in Philadelphia. 

"Making PBU’s is good, but getting turnovers, that will take my game and the defense’s to a whole new level if I start catching those balls.

"I'm going to get on the JUGS machine. Keep working on my hands, and try to pick some of those balls off. That’s the next step for me."

Ward clearly sets high standards for himself but, after delivering a pair of critical displays on massive stages in consecutive weeks, he has inserted himself into the discussion as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. 

If he adds to his turnover tally down the stretch, it will be tough to deny him the Pro Bowl and perhaps even All-Pro recognition he deserves.

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