Throw It Again!

I did not, in spite of my best efforts, figure out a way to score tickets to the 49ers/Giants game yesterday at the Meadowlands. I instead was relegated to a front row seat on my couch to enjoy the 49ers second consecutive Kevin Burkhart game, and their second consecutive Kevin Burkhart win on the road, as the 49ers defense harangued Eli Manning all day long and forced him into 5 Interceptions, which was good because the offense kind of loafed around all day and a game that felt like it should have been a runaway win ended up being a 16-10 squeaker.

This was the kind of effort that underscored just how quietly good the 49ers have played on defense this season, because they really carried the team to this win. Chris Borland, who's played so well in Patrick Willis' stead, had yet another big time performance, racking up another 12 tackles and scoring a pair of Interceptions, the second of which came late in the 4th Quarter with the Giants 5 yards away from scoring a potential winning Touchdown. Borland was backed by Michael Wilhoite, Chris Culliver and Eric Reid, who also picked off Manning and Aaron Lynch and Ray McDonald, who sacked Manning and generally made his life difficult all afternoon.

It was clear that the Defense was going to have to come up with a big time outing early on. Though the 49ers started with the ball and moved smartly down the field on a drive comprised mostly behind the power running of Frank Gore with a side of Carlos Hyde. Colin Kaepernick also added in a 16-yard run. But the running game ended up doing the 49ers in when Gore mishandled a handoff from Kaepernick and in the process of trying to pick the ball up ended up having it conk off his helmet instead. Needless to say, this did not end well, and instead of an early lead, the 49ers found themselves with an early deficit as Eli Manning ripped the Giants offense right down the field, finishing in the End Zone when he hit Larry Donnell for a 19-yard score.

The 49ers responded by going right back to Frank Gore, who redeemed himself by picking up 17 yards. But Kaepernick was not only sacked but also lost 7 yards on a designed run which prevented the drive from progressing further, and ultimately the drive stalled and ended in a Phil Dawson Field Goal. The 49ers next possession appeared a mirror image, as runs by Gore, Hyde and Kaepernick moved the 49ers down the field. Though Kaepernick managed to avoid getting sacked, he also overshot Michael Crabtree near the end zone and the drive finished with yet another Dawson Field Goal.

The Giants ensuing possession started out well enough, but on the 3rd play of the drive, Chris Borland jumped in front of a Manning pass intended for Odell Beckham, Jr and picked it off for his first career Interception. Borland returned the pick down to the Giants 29 yard line, putting the 49ers in prime position to grab their first lead of the day. They did grab the lead, but only after Kaepernick failed to complete passes to Crabtree and Vernon Davis (who's become a bit of a lost man in this often-stagnant offense). This led to—you guessed it—a Phil Dawson Field Goal that put the 49ers ahead 9-7.

The Giants responded with a drive that appeared primed to end in points, as Manning completed a pair of long passes to Donnell and Rueben Randle. But with the ball inside the 49ers 20-yard line, Manning reared back and fired a pass directly into the hands of Michael Wilhoite. Manning obviously just didn't see Wilhoite—at least that's the only logical explanation—because the pass was just thrown so perfectly to Wilhoite that you might have assumed he had a Giants uniform on. Manning could only stand there with his trademark dumbfounded look on his face while Tom Coughlin turned 34 shades of purple. Fortunately for Manning, the 49ers couldn't do much with their good fortune. Kaepernick nearly handed the ball back to the Giants on the next play when he fumbled the snap, and although he hit Crabtree for a 25 yard gain, he then overshot Brandon Lloyd and missed Crabtree on a short pass, and the 49ers ended up punting back to the Giants.

Following halftime, the 49ers forced the Giants to punt before finally getting themselves into the End Zone on offense. Kaepernick started the possession with a deep pass intended for Vance McDonald, but McDonald, who has a knack for not taking advantage of the few passes intended for him, didn't come particularly close to catching the ball. No matter. Two plays later, Kaepernick threw a pass down the middle for Crabtree, which Crabtree did catch in traffic and subsequently broke an attempted tackle by Quinton Demps and then just outran Demps into the End Zone for a 48-yard Touchdown to put the 49ers ahead 16-7. This seemed, for all intents and purposes, a game-clincher for the 49ers, but the action was far from over. The Giants, on their ensuing possession, drove down the field and scored on a Josh Brown Field Goal to cut the 49ers lead to 16-10. They then surprised the 49ers by executing an Onside Kick that bounced off the hands of Bubba Ventrone and into the hands of Michael Herzlich, setting up the Giants in prime position to grab the lead back with the ball near midfield. But on 3rd down, Manning airmailed a pass not particularly close to Randle that was easily intercepted by Eric Reid, giving the ball back to the 49ers and putting that exasperated look on Eli Manning's face once again.

The 49ers, who on offense continued to let the Giants hang around, again set them up in prime position when their subsequent drive stalled and Dawson came on to attempt another Field Goal. But a poor snap short-circuited the effort, and Andy Lee was forced to scramble and throw an ill-fated pass into no man's land, giving the ball back to the Giants near midfield. Though the Giants did move the ball, they ended up faced with a 4th down and 1 at the 49ers 43 yard line. They attempted to convert, but the 49ers defense rose up and stuffed Rashad Jennings for no gain, taking the ball back as the game moved to the 4th Quarter.

The 49ers offense continued to do a whole lot of nothing, which meant that the Defense was going to have to make plays to win the game. And make plays they did. After punting the ball back to the Giants, Manning managed to move the ball into the 49ers end of the field, completing multiple passes to Odell Beckham, Jr. But once again, when it was needed most, the 49ers got pressure on Manning, forced him to rush a pass, and he overthrew his intended target and a 49ers defender—this time Chris Culliver—was there to reel in the Interception. One drive (and a 49ers punt) later, Manning had the Gnats on the move again. This time, he hit Beckham for a highlight reel catch at the 49ers 4 yard line. Now, after all the heavy lifting the 49ers Defense had to do, they had to come up with one more stop, because this was probably the game right here. The offense had kind of limped along all afternoon, and in spite of creating 4 turnovers, this was going to bite them in the ass. But for as bad as the 49ers looked on Offense, the Gnats proved themselves just as inept. Three consecutive times, Eli Manning tried to throw a fade route towards the back corner of an End Zone, and three consecutive times, a 49ers Defender got in the face of a Giants receiver to knock away the pass. It came down to a final 4th down play. Manning this time didn't go back to the fade, because clearly, although the 49ers kept giving him open looks on the outside, he couldn't seal the deal. Instead, he tried to thread a pass over the middle intended for Preston Parker, but Donte Johnson jumped the route and batted the ball up in the air, where Chris Borland was waiting to come down with the Interception, which was either the scintillating 5th on the day created by the 49ers defense, or the Comically Embarrassing 5th thrown by Eli Manning, which left both he and Coughlin to stand there with stupefied looks on their faces.

The remainder of the game was academic. The 49ers couldn't run out the clock and punted back to the Gnats. Eli Manning didn't throw a 6th Interception, but he also didn't complete any passes to his own teammates either, and thus, the 49ers were able to escape with a 16-10 victory, their second consecutive hard-fought Road Victory.

The win, I'll take, although on the offensive side of things, there wasn't much to be thrilled about. Gore ran for 95 yards, and Hyde and Kaepernick also had a few yards on the ground. Kaepernick managed to complete a paltry 15 of 29 passes for 193 yards and a Touchdown. He didn't turn the ball over, but he also didn't do anything especially impressive, either, which makes you wonder what the offensive concept was this afternoon. Last week, it seemed like he was only able to make plays when he absolutely had to. This week, the urgency wasn't there, I guess. I suppose it helps when your defense gets you 5 turnovers, but that obviously doesn't happen every week.

At now 6-4, the 49ers return home for a game against Washington which they might be looking past considering that game is followed with a short week and a Thanksgiving Night matchup against dear friends the Seattle Seahawks. They'd be wise to not fall into one of those trap games next Sunday. Washington looks the part of a pushover, but the 49ers have been burned by supposedly inferior opponents at home twice already this season and another loss in a crowded NFC Playoff hunt could be severely damaging.

Save Your Season

New Orleans hasn't exactly been kind to the 49ers in recent years. Their Super Bowl loss there notwithstanding, they also played a game there in 2012 in which multiple players suffered season-ending injuries in a game they did ultimately win. Last year, they had a late lead, but a near-unconscionable roughing the passer call on Ahmad Brooks, negating a Drew Brees sack and fumble that might have given the 49ers the ball with a chance to run out the clock, allowed the Saints to tie and eventually win the game on a last-second Field Goal. Sunday, the 49ers were in New Orleans again, limping in with a record of 4-4 and in desperate need of a win in a difficult place to win in order to keep their incredibly dicey playoff hopes alive.

In a back-and-forth affair that saw the 49ers charge out to an early lead only to see the Saints come back and take a lead with under 2 minutes to play, the 49ers converted a miraculous 4th down play, as Colin Kaepernick, facing heavy pressure, scrambled around to keep the play alive long enough for Michael Crabtree to get open down the field. Kaepernick threw a mighty heave down the field and was able to find his sure-handed receiver for a 51-yard gain that put the 49ers in position to tie the game. In Overtime, Ahmad Brooks redeemed himself by once again sacking Brees and forcing him to Fumble, this time without a penalty, and the 49ers kicked the winning Field Goal and escaped New Orleans with a 27-24 win that for all intents and purposes saved their season, elevating their record to 5-4 and keeping their Playoff hopes intact.

The game wasn't on in New York, and of course I'd mentioned previously that the NFL put their previously free streaming audio service behind a paywall, which meant that I was relegated to following the game on my computer, while watching the lesser matchup between the Jets and the Steelers. Rather than hearing our old friend Kevin Burkhart, I was subjected to some lines on a screen and the dulcet tones of Kevin Harlan—that doesn't quite rate. But nonetheless, the 49ers have done well when Kevin Burkhart's been present, and they got off to a fine start on Sunday. Antoine Bethea intercepted Drew Brees on the game's 3rd play. The 49ers, who'd abandoned the run in previous weeks to little success, went back to where their bread had been best buttered for years and handed the ball to Frank Gore. It took 3 plays for Gore to plow his way into the end zone for a Touchdown that got the 49ers off to a 7-0 lead. After forcing a 3-and-out, the 49ers shoved their way down the field once again behind Gore and Carlos Hyde, and this drive again finished with a Touchdown, as Hyde scored on a 9-yard run to put the 49ers ahead 14-0.

But the hot start eventually stalled, as Brees turned back into Brees and started hitting his array of receivers with ease to move the Saints down the field and eventually put themselves on the board when Shayne Graham kicked a Field Goal. The 49ers next possession was short-circuited by an Offensive Pass Interference penalty on Anquan Boldin. The Saints responded by scoring a Touchdown when Brees hit Brandin Cooks for a 31-yard score. But the 49ers regained control of things on their following possession thanks to a pair of clutch catches from Boldin, one of which was caught in traffic for a 25-yard gain, and the second of which resulted in a Touchdown from 15 yards away to put the 49ers ahead 21-10.

The 49ers managed to keep the score where it was for the remainder of the half, although they didn't make it easy on themselves. Kaepernick, who'd had a reasonably good 1st half, capped things off by fumbling the ball away after a sack at the 49ers 42-yard line. This turned the ball over to the Saints in prime position to draw closer, but while trying to thread a pass in to Jimmy Graham, Brees was intercepted by Chris Culliver to snuff out the drive and send the game to halftime with the 49ers ahead, 21-10.

In the second half, the 49ers offense stagnated, while the Saints caught fire. Though Gore and Hyde continued to chew up yards on the ground, Kaepernick dissolved into a number of checkdowns, sacks and incompletions. In all, the Saints got to Kaepernick 4 times, which wasn't as bad as the miserable 8 sacks he suffered at the hands of the Rams last week, but still wasn't very good, and continues to underline the problems the 49ers have had on the offensive line. Though Joe Staley and Mike Iupati have played at their usual high level, the 49ers have been suffering through the loss of Center Daniel Kilgore, out for the season, and Anthony Davis, who's missed several games. Kilgore's replacement, Rookie Marcus Martin, hasn't quite gotten his sea legs under him, and opposing defenses have been able to exploit this. The Rams did it last week, and the Saints did it again on Sunday, and while the 49ers plodded along, the Saints came back thanks to a pair of Brees-to-Jimmy Graham scores, one of which came late in the 3rd Quarter to make the score 21-17, and another coming two plays after the two-minute warning in the 4th Quarter that appeared to put the Saints in position to win the game, 24-21.

So, the 49ers, who have had issues all season finishing out games now appeared to have this problem that's plagued them all year now spell their ultimate downfall. On the road, in a stadium that's always a challenge to win in, with the specter of a 3rd straight loss and a 4-5 record staring them in the face, the 49ers had to come up with a clutch drive in response. If not, well, you may as well kiss their asses goodbye for 2014.

This drive that would ultimately save the 49ers season didn't start out well at all. Boldin started out by dropping a 1st down pass, and on 2nd down couldn't hang on to a low pass. On 3rd down, Michael Crabtree couldn't hang on to another pass.

Then came the 4th down play. Kaepernick had to slide out to his right to avoid a blitz, and somehow managed to stay upright long enough for Crabtree to find himself open deep down the middle of the field. Kaepernick wound up and uncorked about as clutch a pass as he's ever thrown, landing safely in the arms of Crabtree for that key 51-yard game that would set up Phil Dawson to tie the game with a Field Goal.

Still, the Saints had one final opportunity with :44 seconds left, and they almost pulled off a counter-miracle with time expiring. The Saints attempted the old Hail Mary play from midfield, and amid several players leaping for the jump ball, Jimmy Graham caught the pass and landed in the End Zone for what appeared to be a Game-winning score. Fitting that this was how it would come down, after the 49ers had to battle back the way they did. But flags flew all over the place as Graham shoved Perrish Cox in the back before he jumped for the ball, and although Cox probably could have won an Oscar for the flop he took, the Offensive Pass Interference call was pretty clear. The Touchdown was negated, and the game moved to Overtime.

In Overtime, the Saints managed to move the ball across midfield, and although they had a convertable 4th down play, they decided to punt the ball away to the 49ers. But the 49ers could do nothing with the ball on their first possession and ended up punting the ball back to the Saints, with Andy Lee doing what he usually does and pinning them deep in their own territory.

This, of course, set the stage for Ahmad Brooks to strip-sack Brees, sending the ball flying forward where Chris Borland, an unsung Rookie who's really come on strong in the absence of Patrick Willis, recovered the ball. Opting to not screw around, Jim Harbaugh immediately sent Dawson out for the Field Goal attempt, and although Dawson kicked an ugly knuckler that seemed to take a right turn in midair, the kick went through the uprights and the 49ers had saved the game, their season and their sanity with a 27-24 win.

Clean, this was not, and the 49ers haven't really played a clean game all season. This hasn't been an easy season for the 49ers and they've really had to claw their way to the 5 victories they have. The injuries to the offensive line have been bad enough, and that's not even getting to the players they've been missing on defense. But the Defense, oddly enough, has been the unit that's been carrying them this season. In spite of not having Aldon Smith or Navorro Bowman, and with Patrick Willis still ailing, the defense has been making the necessary plays. It's been guys like Chris Borland that have been stepping up. Borland has been positively Willis-like these past two weeks, racking up 19 tackles against the Rams, and had a hand in another 17 against the Saints, in addition to coming up with the key Fumble recovery in Overtime. Whatever it is, the 49ers did what was necessary to get themselves a tough win in New Orleans. Next, a trip to our neck of the woods to play the Giants, always an interesting matchup. Perhaps I'll find my way to New Jersey for this one, although given the escalating price of tickets for these games, it doesn't seem especially likely. We'll see.

Black Hole Sun

For the second season in a row, the 49ers season came to a crashing halt when a fade pass to the corner of the end zone that was intended for Michael Crabtree fell someplace other than into the hands of Michael Crabtree. Last season, that pass fell incomplete on a 4th down play in the Super Bowl. This time, the pass was tipped by Richard Sherman into the hands of Malcolm Smith, cutting off a last-minute 49ers attempt to win the game. In a game that can only be described as piercingly intense, the 49ers were once again at the precipice of victory only to be turned away, done in by three 4th Quarter turnovers, falling to the Seahawks 23-17 in the NFC Championship Game.

This game had so many vicissitudes, so many different angles and plays that seemed key to the outcome. Losing the Super Bowl last season hurt, and certainly this game seemed awfully reminiscent of that, but for so many reason, this game just feels worse.

Perhaps it's the way it started out, which for the 49ers was great. Aldon Smith strip-sacked Russell Wilson on the first play of the game, immediately setting the 49ers up at the Seattle 15-yard line. Even though the drive went nowhere, Phil Dawson's Field Goal gave the 49ers an immediate lead and served notice that this wouldn't be the same Seattle romp as prior 49er trips to Seattle had been. Early in the 2nd Quarter, Colin Kaepernick seemed to be taking control of the game. Though he hadn't thrown much, if at all, to his receivers, and though Frank Gore was unable to establish anything rushing, Kaepernick

shrugged it all off and put the team on his back, providing most of the team's yardage with his legs, including a 58-yard dash that dazzled in terms of both athleticism and elusiveness. Kap's run set up an Anthony Dixon Touchdown that gave the 49ers a 10-0 lead. With the defense thoroughly confusing Russell Wilson and holding Marshawn Lynch in check, things couldn't have been better. But for whatever reason, you could sense it wouldn't last.

Perhaps it was the way the Seahawks stormed back into the game, first by Wilson hitting Doug Baldwin for a 51-yard prayer on a bomb that seemed to epitomize Wilson's own abilities. A busted play, Wilson scrambled around and kept things going long enough for Baldwin to sneak behind Eric Reid and Donte Whitner for a catch that set up a Field Goal. After the 49ers managed nothing in their first 3rd Quarter possession, the Seahawks responded with a healthy dose of Marshawn Lynch, who pounded and pounded and eventually broke through on a 40-yard run that tied the game.

Now stuck in the dogfight of dogfights, Kaepernick appeared to regain control of things when he hit Anquan Boldin for a Touchdown that put the 49ers back ahead. A thing of beauty, this was. We all know, by this point, that Kaepernick has the ability to run around, but rarely have we seen him run around to keep a pass play alive. But that's what he did, and his one-legged jump-throw was an absolute laser beam that just barely snuck over the reaching arms of Earl Thomas and into Boldin's sure hands. This was the kind of play that probably scared the shit out of everyone in Seattle, because clearly, the 49ers weren't folding this time. After a catch like that, I had to think to myself that the 49ers were going to find a way to do it, beat the Seahawks and go on to the Super Bowl.

Sadly, I was wrong. In a 4th Quarter sequence that featured an endless string of nightmares, the 49ers saw their lead evaporate on a counter-miracle from Wilson, their best Defensive player go down with a truly horrible-looking injury, and their season come crashing down amid a flurry of trash talk and ill will.

The Seahawks were rewarded for their gutsiness in going for the kill on a 4th down play, as Jermaine Kearse scored on a 35-yard Touchdown pass, and eventually the Seattle defense wore down Kaepernick enough to force him into some mistakes. Cliff Avril's strip-sack was recovered by Seattle and set the stage for a sloppy sequence that saw Navorro Bowman force a fumble near the goal line, recover said fumble, and then get his knee shredded in the ensuing pileup. This, for me, was truly the point when I felt the game slipping away. Though replays showed that Bowman had clearly recovered a fumble, after getting injured and piled on, he lost the ball, because, when you get injured like that, you usually aren't thinking about holding onto a football. Patrick Willis said as much after the game, because when his close friend was on the ground screaming in pain, the focus isn't so much on the ball, but his teammate. Just to make matters worse, referees awarded Seattle the ball. Somehow, after Bowman was carted off and showered with food by the classy Seattle fans, the 49ers defense kept it together, stopped the Seahawks on 4th down and got the ball back.

But, before that drive could get going, Kaepernick was intercepted by Kam Chancellor on a badly underthrown pass for Anquan Boldin. A little air under it and Boldin certainly would have caught it. By this point, the air was really starting to come out of the 49ers. To their credit, though, the Defense wouldn't let the game get away, holding Seattle to a Field Goal to make it a 6 point game with around 3 minutes to play, setting the stage for one final shot for the 49ers to win the game. This, I suppose, was all you could ask for in a game that had lived up to its billing as an all-out slugfest. And damned if Kaepernick didn't shake off the interception and the fumble and lead that drive, hitting Gore on a 4th down pass and Crabtree and Vernon Davis for gains that moved the ball down to the Seahawks 18-uard line. We'd been through this last year. It seemed almost certain that this time, things would turn out differently, as Kaepernick reared back and lofted one more pass towards Michael Crabtree in the right corner of the End Zone...

The 49ers and Seahawks, I suppose, can be best equated to the Mets and the Phillies, two teams that don't like each other and two fan bases that clash continually. A game like this could probably be best described as if the Phillies had beaten the Mets in the 2008 NLCS, had such a thing come to pass. Certainly, Richard Sherman (playing the part of Jimmy Rollins) ended up stealing the show, thanks to his tip of Kaepernick's final pass and his postgame rant, which was both classless and self-aggrandizing...but ultimately doesn't change the outcome of the game. Most people, myself included, didn't like it, and it certainly didn't win him any fans, but the over-the-top criticism and media attention he's received from it is probably just what he intended. So be it. He talked the talk, he walked the walk, now his team's going to the Super Bowl. So he got everything he wanted. Good for him. Hopefully his coach doesn't forget the Adderall when they leave for New Jersey.

For the 49ers, this is now three seasons in a row where they've been right at the precipice. And each time, they've managed to come up just a bit short in spite of the fact that they were probably the better team on the field each time. On the one hand, well, they're still a really well-built, well-coached team that's set up for an extended run of success. But on the other hand, this is now three years in a row that they've made it as far as the NFC Championship Game and didn't win the Super Bowl. NFL History is dotted with teams that have had extended runs into the Playoffs but never came away with the ultimate prize. The fear is that the 49ers of this generation might start to earn themselves that kind of a label.

The other thing that's concerning is that while Colin Kaepernick certainly improved greatly by leaps and bounds, he's still very much a work-in-progress. His performance in last night's game, much like his performance in last year's Super Bowl, was borderline brilliant, but dotted with moments of inconsistency and mistakes. In order for the 49ers to have won in Seattle, they had to play mistake-free, and they didn't. And it's magnified because those mistakes all came

very late in the game, after the 49ers had led most of the way and one more scoring drive might have made the difference. It shouldn't, however, take away from his fine finish to the regular season, and the pair of outstanding performances he had in Green Bay and Carolina. With 3 Postseason road victories, he's proven that he has the ability to be successful in a hostile environment, and he damn near did it again in the most hostile of places. But, oh, those crucial mistakes did him in again.

Kaepernick was for the most part inconsolable after the game, putting the blame on himself. His teammates, Patrick Willis in particular, would have none of it. It speaks loudly to the togetherness of this team, the core of which has managed to stay mostly intact. This season was, perhaps, the most difficult of the last three, given the peaks and valleys the team seemed to encounter over the course of the year. But they managed to make it through to late January once again. But one can never tell just how long this success can be maintained. The Atlanta Falcons can be used as a cautionary tale of this, dropping from 13 wins to 4 in a blink. Certainly, the 49ers don't seem to be a likely candidate for a major dropoff, but there will inevitably be turnover on this team. Key players like Jonathan Goodwin, Anthony Dixon and Donte Whitner are all Free Agents, as is Anquan Boldin, who was really a godsend for the 49ers this season. That's to say nothing of the impending contracts that are likely due to Kaepernick and Crabtree. Frank Gore's contract is up after the 2014 season as well, and who knows what next season will hold for the 49ers elder statesman, who unfortunately really wore down late in the season and may be nearing the dreaded Running Back Wall. Fortunately, the 49ers do have depth in Kendall Hunter, LaMichael James and Marcus Lattimore, but none have proven much to this point in their careers (Lattimore of course being injured all season) and so who knows if they can be trusted replacements for The Inconvenient Truth. Defensively, much of the front will return, led of course by Patrick Willis, Justin Smith and Aldon Smith. Poor Navorro Bowman, however, now has an offseason of surgery and rehab after last night's ACL injury (in another testament to Willis' leadership, he stated that he "would be there every step of the way" in Bowman's recovery).

So, another year has come to a close in disappointing fashion for the 49ers, and this one was probably the most frustrating of all. It's easy to think about the good moments in any given season and what a crazy ride it was, but it's terribly frustrating to think about what might have been. Nonetheless, it is a sadness tinged with pride when you consider just what it means to get this far three seasons in a row. I mentioned last year that each of these runs to this high level of the Playoffs is special and precious and cannot be taken for granted. I talked at the beginning of the season about the tough road of the Alpha Dog, and seizing the opportunity if they were able to make it all the way back. They almost did. Unfortunately, all it's brought them is another frustrating ending and more questions as they move into another offseason.

Maybe next year they'll get the ending right.

Cold Heart

Although the temperature wasn't as historically cold as people expected, it was still pretty cold in Green Bay on Sunday, at 3˚ with a wind chill of -14˚. This mattered very little to the 49ers, who stormed out behind their hearty, sleeveless Quarterback Colin Kaepernick and beat the Green Bay Packers 23-20 to advance to the Divisional round of the NFC Playoffs. In spite of the cold, and in spite of playing on a gnarly looking "frozen tundra" that appeared to be comprised of either dead grass or painted dirt, the 49ers played mostly unfazed and stood toe-to-toe with the Packers, ultimately prevailing on Phil Dawson's last-second Field Goal.

It's Kaepernick who's drawing all the attention after this game, and deservedly so, since it was his 227 passing yards and 98 rushing yards that served as The Difference in the game. Kaepernick did what he tends to do in situations like this: raise his game to the magnitude of the moment. Stating after the game that "It ain't that cold, it's all mental," Kaepernick once again proved himself too difficult for the Packers to stop and although he might not have lit them on fire like he usually does, he still outplayed Aaron Rodgers and made several clutch plays in key moments to set up the 49ers to win.

That being said, Rodgers has to get some credit for simply dragging the Packers back into the game, because early on, it looked like the 49ers were going to run them out of their own building. After forcing a Green Bay punt on the opening possession, the 49ers raced down the field, with Kaepernick and Michael Crabtree hooking up for a majority of the yardage, including a 31-yard catch on a 4th down play that set up a Dawson Field Goal. The Packers did nothing on their ensuing possession, again going 3-and-out, aided by a sack split between Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith. The 49ers took advantage of a bad punt by Tom Masthay and began their second possession in Packers' territory. And again, they drove down inside the Packers' 10-yard line, this time with Anquan Boldin picking up the key yards. But again, the drive stalled and resulted in another Field Goal. This, annoyingly, had been a problem all season, and I was concerned that settling for Field Goals when for all intents and purposes the 49ers had completely dominated the game and shown themselves to be playing on a completely different level than the Packers. But these things change quickly in the NFL, and all it can take is one play sometimes to turn the tide.

The Packers eventually did get their break, but only after a 3rd drive that saw Rodgers get sacked and the Packers go 3-and-out. The 49ers began another march down the field and appeared primed to score again, until Kaepernick made what was really his only bad throw of the game, an underthrown pass to Vernon Davis, who'd broken free near the Packers' 10 yard line, that was intercepted by Tramon Williams. This stopped the 49ers and energized the Packers and Rodgers, who methodically moved down the field in a mostly no-huddle attack comprised around short passes and runs by Eddie Lacy. The 14 play drive culminated in a Touchdown pass from Rodgers to Jordy Nelson that was nearly knocked down by Tarell Brown. But Brown whiffed and out of nowhere the Packers had the lead and served notice that this game wasn't going to be anything close to the cakewalk it had started out looking like.

That being said, for every time the Packers forged downfield for a score that gave them the lead, the 49ers always found a way to come up with the clutch response. Naturally, it was Kaepernick who made the big play, this time using his legs and simply outrunning a majority of the Green Bay defense. It wasn't a designed run—and it's easy to overlook that many of his runs against the Packers aren't designed—but nonetheless, he took advantage of the Packers defense playing man coverage and not leaving a defender to spy on him and took off, racing around the left end and not stopping until he'd made it all the way down to the Packers' 13-yard line. The 42-yard run set up Frank Gore to plow through the middle and score on a 10-yard run two plays later as the 49ers regained the lead 13-7. On their ensuing possession, the Packers drove down quickly to kick a Field Goal as time expired in the half.

The intensity kicked up significantly in the second half. Neither team did much in the way of offense in the 3rd Quarter. The 49ers kicked off the half by burning a Time Out before running their first play. This set a negative tone as the 49ers had the ball 3 times in the Quarter and punted all 3 times. They did manage to move the ball their second possession, as Kaepernick hit Crabtree again for a big gain, but two plays later, Kaepernick took an ugly sack from Nick Perry, who took it upon himself to flex his muscles (in the absence of Semi-talented Commercial Actor and rumored Football Player Clay Matthews, III, I guess Perry had to compensate for idiot Packer behavior) and style after doing so. Fortunately, the 49ers defense was just as hearty; the Packers generated very little themselves, and one drive saw the 49ers sack Rodgers on back-to-back plays, courtesy of Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks.

It wasn't until the 4th Quarter that someone finally broke through. Unfortunately, it was the Packers. Rodgers had begun to heat up again late in the 3rd Quarter, and with the Packers facing a 4th Down at the San Francisco 30 yard line, their coach, Mike McCarthy, eschewed the tying Field Goal in favor of going for the jugular. This nearly blew up in his face, as Ray McDonald appeared to have Rodgers grasped for a sack. But somehow, Rodgers managed to keep his feet, break the tackle and escape long enough to loft a miracle pass to Randall Cobb, who landed inside the 49ers 10-yard line. This, then, would be the kind of play that showed Rodgers' greatness at work, and could easily have been a backbreaker for the 49ers, particularly when John Kuhn plunged in for a Touchdown a few plays later that gave the Packers a 17-13 lead.

Potentially backbreaking, yes, but fortunately, not actually backbreaking for the 49ers. After seemingly losing all momentum, the 49ers just went out and grabbed it right back, thanks once again to Colin Kaepernick, with assists from Vernon Davis and LaMichael James. It was James, who shined as a return man and change-of-pace back last Postseason, who kicked things off with a long Kickoff return that gave the 49ers good Field Position. Then, it was Kaepernick, doing it with his legs again and taking off on another busted play for a 24-yard gain, moving the ball well inside Packer territory. One play later, Kaepernick whistled one of his bullet passes over the middle of the field to Davis, who caught the ball in between a pair of defenders and landed in the End Zone for a Touchdown that gave the 49ers the lead right back. Once again, when they were absolutely in need of the score, the 49ers went out and got it.

It was clear, at this point, that this game was going to continue to go back and forth, and it would be decided either by the team that had the ball last, or the team that made a mistake. The Packers took the ball and embarked on a good drive that appeared primed to end in the End Zone once again, but the 49ers defense stopped them cold inside the 10. Mason Crosby's Field Goal tied the game 20-20 with 5:06 to play. So, that gave the 49ers a pretty easy task: Take the ball, move down the field, run down the clock, score and get the hell out of there.

Of course, it's never that easy.

Kaepernick opened the drive by hitting Crabtree for 11 yards. Two plays later, a touch pass intended for Davis nearly ended in Disaster as Micah Hyde got his hands on the pass, but was unable to intercept it, which was fortunate, because he had nothing in front of him but open field. Faced with a 3rd down on the ensuing play, Kaepernick went back to his old reliable target, Michael Crabtree, for 17 yards and a 1st Down. Crabtree, who's made a name for himself as a top-flight route-runner with outstanding hands, showed in this game just how much the 49ers missed having him in the lineup over the early part of the season. For the game, Crabtree had 8 catches for 125 yards, which obviously was his best output of the season, and he couldn't have picked a better time to do it. Kaepernick has relied on him on 3rd down continuously, just as Alex Smith did before him, and here as the 49ers were trying to move towards a victory, Crabtree came up big once again.

But there was still more ground to gain, and a few plays later, the 49ers found themselves in another 3rd and long situation, this time at the Green Bay 38 yard line. Certainly, a pass was the call, and certainly, Crabtree would be the preferred target. But if it didn't work, it was certainly too far away for Phil Dawson to be counted on to kick the Field Goal, and with just over a minute to play, too much time to just hand the ball back to Aaron Rodgers. Kaepernick dropped back to pass and the Packers came with a blitz. But in their zeal to get to Kaepernick, the Packers overpursued him, allowing Kap to race around the corner and pick up those key 8 yards and then a few more, moving the ball closer, and allowing the 49ers to run the clock down even further behind some Frank Gore runs, setting up Phil Dawson to kick home a 33-yard Field Goal and send the 49ers on to play the Carolina Panthers next weekend.

Naturally, the mood after the game was that the team immediately wanted to run in and get out of the cold. Ultimately, the better team won the game, although it wasn't the 49ers cleanest effort. Certainly, the weather was a factor, but habits that have annoyingly formed over the course of the season showed themselves, particularly early when the 49ers couldn't finish off their drives. Unlike in prior games, this wasn't a product of play calling. Kaepernick was afforded the ability to score with his arm in these situations on Sunday, but the receivers weren't there for him, and a lane for him to run didn't exist. Clock management was also a problem, as the 49ers burned two Timeouts in the 1st Quarter, and two more halfway into the 3rd Quarter. These didn't come back to hurt them, but under different circumstances, perhaps it could have. And for all that went wrong, or could have gone wrong, there was still plenty of good. The Defense got off to a flying start, stuffing the Packers run game and not allowing Rodgers to complete a pass until the 2nd Quarter. And when the Packers did get going, the defense bent, but didn't break. Eddie Lacy and James Starks never found consistent holes in the defense for big runs, Navorro Bowman, Patrick Willis and Company kept holding them to short gains. And for all his heroics, Aaron Rodgers only mustered 177 yards passing on the day, and the 49ers managed to keep constant pressure on him. Offensively, of course Kaepernick and Crabtree were the stars, but Frank Gore also chimed in with 66 tough yards and a Touchdown. Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin didn't light it up, but they made their catches count, and overall, the offensive line did their usual stellar job of creating lanes and protecting the Quarterback.

So, once again, the 49ers have disposed of the Packers. The Packers can't get over their Colin Kaepernick Problem and so for the second year in a row, the 49ers have Discount Doublechecked them into the offseason. This makes Kaepernick 3-0 against the Packers and each time, he's managed to confound them and make absolutely every play necessary. This also would be the 4th Postseason game in which Kaepernick has really elevated his game, and having now done this over two seasons, will begin to give Kap the reputation of being a Big Game Quarterback. He's now won two Road Playoff games, so the venue doesn't matter to him. The weather probably won't be as much of a factor next weekend as the 49ers journey down to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers in a rematch of what was probably their most frustrating game of the season, a 10-9 loss at Home in Week 10 that saw the 49ers unable to do much of anything on offense. At the time, the 49ers didn't have Crabtree and Davis was lost during the game with a concussion. The Panthers sacked Kaepernick 6 times and really manhandled them in the process. This isn't lost on the 49ers. After the game, when asked about playing the Panthers, Kap said that his only thought is "...that we owe them one for what they did at our house."

People kept saying that the 49ers and Packers are vastly different than they were in Week 1. The 49ers and Panthers are vastly different than they were in Week 10, too. I wouldn't expect the same result next Sunday.

Kevin And The Gang

Sunday was another of those weird anomaly days (which have pleasantly occurred a few times this season) where the 49ers game ended up being on in New York. Even more pleasant was the fact that our good friend Kevin Burkhart was announcing the game on Fox. Burkhart's really blown up these past few months, after years toiling away for SNY and, prior to that, WFAN. It started with a few spots on Fox's Saturday game of the week, but now he's really hit the big time as an NFL announcer. He's done quite well, in spite of being relegated to mostly lesser games (though he seems to be garnering more important games than the horrible Chris Myers). Sunday's 49ers/Rams matchup wasn't exactly game-of-the-week material, but given how competitive the NFC West has been this season it certainly wasn't a dud.

So, Kevin and his crew were on hand for this one, and while it was a hotly contested game between two teams that don't like each other very much, the 49ers laid down the hammer behind a stifling defensive effort and the hurdling abilities of Vernon Davis to come away with a 23-13 victory and a season sweep of the Rams. The game started out with things being a little chippy as the 49ers purposefully held a team huddle in the middle of the field prior to the game, and penalty flags were thrown aplenty throughout the afternoon. After having such difficulty with the Rams last season, the 49ers probably couldn't have been blamed for really wanting to stick it to them this year, and they successfully did so in both meetings.

The Defense has ruled the day most of the season for the 49ers, and they certainly set the tone on Sunday. Ray McDonald sacked Kellen Clemens on the 2nd play of the game and things kind of continued on from there. The Rams ended up with 312 yards of offense, a majority of it accomplished late in the 4th Quarter when the game was well out of reach. Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman also sacked Clemens, Carlos Rogers intercepted a pass in the 4th Quarter and Anthony Dixon snuffed out an ill-timed and ill-advised fake punt, but in general, the 49ers defense just didn't allow the Rams offense any sort of headway for a majority of the game.

Offensively, Colin Kaepernick had one of his better days, which was probably because for the first time all season, he had his full complement of receivers at his disposal. Most welcome was the sight of Michael Crabtree making his season debut. Crabtree only made two receptions, one in his signature over-the-middle in-traffic fashion, and the second a breakaway go route that saw him run for close to 60 yards (and which he likely would have scored on had he been 100%), but the fact that he was back and in uniform was simply enough to generate good vibes. It may be a few weeks before he starts to make an impact again, given the severity of his Achilles injury, but having him back in the lineup is huge, particularly for Kaepernick.

Vernon Davis also had a standout game. His 4 receptions for 82 yards didn't lead the team in either count (that honor went to, who else, Anquan Boldin), but he did it in style. His second reception featured him catching an out route from Kaepernick and then proceeded to hurdle over defender Rodney McLeod en route to a much larger gain that set up a Field Goal. In the 4th Quarter, one play after the Rams botched their fake punt, Davis made them pay by catching a short pass from Kaepernick and again hurdling over defenders into the End Zone for the game-clinching TD. He also got tackled by the potatoes in the 3rd Quarter in a scene that should never be watched. Fortunately, he recovered from that unscathed, although as Burkhart said, "He may be singing Soprano for a while..."

So, after the panic button was about to be pressed, the 49ers recovered and have now won 2 games in a row, putting them at 8-4 and fairly solidly in control of a Wildcard spot. The Defense has been heroic all season and really paved the way for the 49ers 5-game winning streak earlier in the season and, for that matter, really didn't play badly in their 2 recent losses. The offense has been inconsistent, but with Crabtree now back in the fold, they may finally start to get some consistency. These things are important to note because, of course, next Sunday, the Seahawks, now 11-1, come to town to renew the NFL's most underrated rivalry. The Seahawks beat the 49ers back in Week 2 in Seattle and really embarrassed them in the process. It may not be a revenge game, but the 49ers can certainly make a statement and really bring some order to their playoff chances with a victory. And with both teams making the playoffs, it certainly seems possible that a third meeting could occur in January, with the stakes much higher.

Showstopper

I mentioned on Thursday that I was ready for Saturday night's 49ers/Packers playoff game to get underway already, so you can imagine that most of my day Saturday was spent working myself into a hyper ball of tension. It didn't help that just about everything I was reading and hearing from "experts" seemed to favor the Packers to win the game. Even though the 49ers had the better team and the game in their building, that seemed to matter little. How could the 49ers hold down Aaron Rodgers and his galaxy of stars. How could the 49ers win with Colin Kaepernick making his first Playoff start? The stage was set for everyone's chic picks, the Packers and Seahawks, to go on the road, kick their opponents in the nuts and then meet in an Epic NFC Championship game next Sunday.

Early on, it looked like everyone might have been right. Kaepernick came out and immediately threw an interception that Sam Shields ran back for a Touchdown. On the ensuing possession, it appeared that Kaepernick was just as antsy as I was. He was under and overthrowing his receivers, only managing a 1st down via Penalty. Kaepernick started out completing 1 of his first 5 passes, the 49ers were facing a 3rd and 10 on their own 33 yard line, and I was apoplectic. Instant disaster was staring the 49ers right in the face. Already behind, about to hand the ball back to Aaron Rodgers...Where was this game going?

Kaepernick had to scramble around on the 3rd down play, but managed to loft a touch pass out to Frank Gore, who broke free for a 45-yard gain down to the Green Bay 22 yard line. Three plays later, Kaepernick faced another 3rd down play. The Packers came with a blitz, Kaepernick saw a lane down the left side of the field and shot through for a game-tying Touchdown.

In reality, throwing the early Pick-6 was the best thing that could have happened to Kaepernick and the 49ers, for multiple reasons. For one, throwing a little adversity the way of the 49ers right away gave them the opportunity to come back and set a tone that whatever Green Bay did, the 49ers would be game enough to match it. Second, between the kickoff and Kaepernick's TD, about 6 minutes of game clock, more like 25 minutes in actual time elapsed, all time in which Aaron Rodgers had to stand on the sideline, and all time in which the Green Bay defense had to spend on the field.

By time Rodgers finally took a snap, he was cold. Rodgers started equally as poorly as Kaepernick, this wasn't quite as magnified since he didn't turn the ball over, but except for a 3rd down prayer to James Jones on the Packers's second possession, he didn't do much. The Packers regained the lead one play after the Jones catch when DuJuan Harris, the Packers' Running Back du Jour, ran it in from 18 yards out, but that was pretty much the only thing of note the Packers were able to accomplish on the ground. This, in fact, was the last time the Packers held the lead the remainder of the night.

Not that it didn't require a few breaks for the 49ers, but in a game that appeared rapidly developing into a shootout, Kaepernick was just getting warmed up. By game's end, Colin Kaepernick would put forth a record-setting performance, one that displayed just how dangerous a weapon he really is, how multifaceted a talent he can be, and how right Jim Harbaugh was when he made the switch to Kaepernick mid-season.

Down 14-7, the 49ers embarked on a drive that stalled at midfield. Andy Lee's punt appeared primed to pin the Packers back deep in their own territory. But their return man, Rookie Jeremy Ross, muffed the punt, and C.J. Spillman immediately fell on the ball, giving the 49ers an instant scoring opportunity. Three plays later, the 49ers, who converted 3rd downs at will all night, were back in the end zone when Kaepernick whistled a quick slant pass in to Michael Crabtree, who split the Packer safeties and raced in for the tying score. In response, Rodgers attempted another Home Run ball that was picked off by Tarell Brown. Had the Packers bothered to tackle Brown, this might have been no worse than a punt, but Brown ran the ball back about 30 yards, ending up in Green Bay territory and setting up the 49ers up for another score. This one, much like the others, was comprised by Kaepernick just Making The Plays. He converted yet another 3rd down by scrambling and fired another Touchdown, threading the needle to Crabtree for his second of the night.

The Packers defense, suspect all season and porous against mobile Quarterbacks, had no answer for Kaepernick. They couldn't cover receivers in zone coverage, and any time they blitzed, Kaepernick was able to escape and gain yards on the ground. Kaepernick had now been able to find his legs, settle in and proven himself more than capable of standing toe to toe with Rodgers, who answered the 49ers Touchdown with an impressive one of his own, hitting James Jones for the score on a drive aided by an idiotic roughing penalty on Dashon Goldson (Goldson was flagged for diving on a pileup late, something he probably should have known better than to do).

Tied once again with 2:33 to go in what was shaping up as a wild game, the 49ers would have been wise to score before halftime, with the Packers set to receive the kickoff after halftime. Score they did, as Kaepernick just went right back to work picking the Packers apart. A trio of scrambles went for 19, 18 and 9 yards, putting the 49ers in good enough field position for David Akers to line up for and make his only attempt of the night, a 36 yard attempt that gave the 49ers the lead, 24-21, going into the half. After his ugly start, Kaepernick had more than settled in, he was taking over the game. His 11 rushes had gone for 107 yards, which was not only enough to lead the team, it was more than the 99 Adrian Peterson had been able to muster the prior week in Green Bay. Moreover, the 49ers held an embarrassing lead in time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 2/3rds of the half.

The Packers needed to make some kind of adjustment, particularly on defense. Kaepernick and the 49ers had beaten them to the punch continually throughout the half. They had no answer for Kaepernick, and if they couldn't come up with some sort of solution, the game was going to get out of hand. Early in the 3rd Quarter, the Packers tried to give the 49ers a bit of their own medicine, forcing a 3-and-out—the only one they would get all evening—before Rodgers led a lengthy drive that culminated in a Field Goal by Mason Crosby, knotting the game once again at 24.

This would be the last moment the Packers were relevant in this game.

The 49ers opened their ensuing drive with Kaepernick slinging in a pair of passes to Crabtree covering 24 yards. Kaepernick had already shown his stuff, but he stole the show on the following play. With the Packers heavily pursuing the run, Kaepernick faked a handoff to LaMichael James, pulled it back and took off around the right end. Before anyone on the Packer defense knew what was going on, Kaepernick was off to the races, outrunning everyone on an electrifying 56-yard Touchdown run that tilted the game solidly in the 49ers favor.

The Packers, in response, completely abandoned the run. Rodgers passed and passed, but couldn't sustain a drive. Their punt pinned the 49ers back at their own 7 yard line, but that only gave the 49ers an opportunity to kill the Packers more methodically. After spending most of the first 3 quarters on the field, the Packers defense was beginning to wilt. Punishing runs by Frank Gore were sandwiched around Kaepernick continuing to zip passes all over the field, one to Crabtree for 16 yards, and a deep strike to Vernon Davis that covered 44 yards and made Troy Aikman's jaw drop. Gore punched the ball in from a yard out on the first play of the 4th Quarter, giving the 49ers a firm lead at 38-24. With the Packer defense shot, the 49ers were one stop on defense from running their asses out of Candlestick Park and Discount Doublechecking them back to Green Bay. Rodgers gamely tried to lead them back, but his best opportunity—a deep pass—sailed just out of the reach of Greg Jennings, and the Packers were forced to punt away once again.

The 49ers final drive of the game further demoralized the Packers and iced the game. Pinned back at their own 7 yard line once again, the 49ers moved the ball easily, mostly on the ground, until they were faced with a 4th and 1 deep in Green Bay's territory. The Field Goal would have been the easy option, but instead, the 49ers lined up as if they were going to go for it. The thought process was to try to get Green Bay to jump offsides with a hard snap count. This rarely works, but somehow, Kaepernick managed to dupe B.J. Raji to jump, giving the 49ers a 1st down and the opportunity to run more clock. Anthony Dixon's 2-yard Touchdown finished things off, the 49ers second straight 93-yard drive, this one eating close to 8 minutes off the game clock. By time the Packers scored an academic Touchdown, there was under a minute to go and the game was no longer in doubt.

Clearly, this was a statement game by the 49ers, and particularly by Colin Kaepernick. Given a questionable chance at best to beat the Packers, the 49ers went out and really stomped them, particularly in the second half. Everyone went out and did what they needed to do, but Kaepernick was the one who emerged as the showstopper on this night. He'd had some outstanding performances this season, but under the glare of the Playoffs, Kaepernick raised his game to a level equal to the magnitude of the game. Always a threat to run, Kaepernick's performance on the ground was otherworldly. His 16 carries, many of them on broken plays where he was forced to scramble, went for an astronomical 181 yards. To put this into another kind of perspective, this is like Jose Reyes driving in 80 runs as a leadoff hitter. You don't expect this kind of production from your Quarterback. The fact that Kaepernick's performance set an NFL record for rushing yards by a Quarterback in any game is indicative of that. But if that wasn't enough, Kaepernick also outgunned Aaron Rodgers through the air. He passed the ball at will, undaunted by his sloppy start, ending up with 263 yards through the air to Rodgers' 257. Most of his passes were of the "Wow" variety, darts to his receivers. The Packers had no answer for anything Kaepernick threw at them. You almost got the impression that they hadn't bothered to game plan for him at all.

Kaepernick didn't do it alone. Kaepernick's offensive line, led by Joe Staley, Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis (all Pro Bowl-bound) regularly picked up the Green Bay pass rush, and cleared many of the running lanes for Kaepernick to run through. Frank Gore, after a slow start, pounded the ball on the ground in the second half, contributing heavily to the Packer defense getting gassed late in the game. Gore ran for 119 yards, and they were 119 angry yards. In the season opener, Gore had beaten the Packers by running outside the tackles. Saturday, Gore just pounded the ball up the middle repeatedly, at first for short gains, but as the game progressed, the 6-7 yard gains turned into 10-15 yard gains. Michael Crabtree continued his breakout season with the kind of game that would have earned him enhanced recognition, catching 9 passes for 119 yards, most of them in traffic, many of them to convert 1st downs, and 2 for Touchdowns. But with Kaepernick's performance, Crabtree's fine game got lost in the shuffle. Not that he, or anyone else, seems to mind. The whole is what matters, and in their resounding victory, the 49ers set a team Playoff record by running up 579 yards of Offense. It's worth noting that every time they generated more than 450 yards of Offense in a Playoff game, they won the Super Bowl.

Defensively, the 49ers clearly benefited from their week off. Justin Smith, absent the final weeks of the regular season, returned without incident. Though the 49ers only picked up one sack on Rodgers, courtesy of Patrick Willis, they also rarely allowed the big play, forcing the Packers to have to piece long drives together and constantly placing them in long-yardage situations. And just as the 49ers offense eventually wore down the Packer defense, the 49ers wore down the Packer offensive line in the second half. This was a hallmark of the Bill Walsh-era 49ers teams. If you continually beat your opponent to the punch, eventually, they will wear down and give you the decided advantage.

So, the Quest for Six will continue. The 49ers move on to the NFC Championship game for the 2nd year in a row. They'll be on the road in Atlanta next Sunday, as the Atlanta Falcons stopped the Seahawks dead in their tracks with a heart-stopping 30-28 victory on Sunday. Though Atlanta's victory was certainly impressive, they also showed their weaknesses in blowing a 20-point lead with startling quickness in the 4th Quarter. There, but for a miraculous last-second clutch performance from Matt Ryan and Matt Bryant, the 49ers could be at home, preparing for a grudge match against a red hot and fired up Seahawk team in a game that likely would have mimicked the Championship game against the Giants last year. But Seattle has been put in their place and sent home to watch the 49ers take on the Falcons for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. This is the game they've been waiting to get to all season, and they'll have the chance to break down the door they were knocking on last year.