San Francisco 49ers

A finer playoff game you could never hope to see. This game had it all, big plays, stifling defense, periods of yo-yo scoring and a final two minutes that will live long in the memories of partisan and neutral fans alike. In the game the San Francisco 49ers couldn’t win they did just that–and in absolutely spectacular fashion. The 49ers had a narrow margin for error in this game and in a game they dominated with five takeaways and led by as many as 17 points, they only just edged out the victory with a touchdown in the final 10 seconds. The 49ers needed every advantage they gave themselves in this game and just scraped out victorious with some new heroes crowned in the great folklore of 49er playoff history.

For the defeated New Orleans Saints, the franchise is still without a road playoff victory and even though the offense came alive late, it was mistakes by the offense early that proved costly. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow. What a game and if you, like me, are pretty stoked after such a thrilling matchup, perhaps you’ll excuse some rather excited rhetoric in this report.

After staying on the defensive side of the game last week, I decided to look to the other side of the ball and after three and a half minutes of the first quarter was regretting my decision. On a sideline go route, Jimmy Graham, my “Focus Point” for the day, banged his head and left the field injured to various calls from the commentators about concussions and how he may not return. Was this the flaw in my plan?

As it turned out, Graham returned on the next drive and played a fairly pivotal role in what, at the moment at least, appears to be one of the best playoff games ever. Read the rest of this entry »

The first encounter of divisional weekend is the only game of the four that isn’t a rematch from the 2011 regular season, but it does provide the matchup between arguably the best defense in the league and the best offense. A true meeting of fire and ice.

Coming into the season, the prospect of the Saints travelling to an NFC West team on divisional playoff weekend would have seemed absurd, no one could have expected an NFC West team to secure a bye, but the 49ers have done just that and they will need their defense to be at its best to ensure the Saints leave the left coast with another defeat. The 49ers have faced some good offenses this season in the shape of the Eagles, Lions, and Giants but nothing comes close to the Saints’ explosive, deep, and varied attack. As good as the 49ers’ defense has been this season, this is a new test. Read the rest of this entry »

The 49ers have a lot going for them this weekend when they face the Saints, but this game is going to come down to how each team fares in the red zone, and that will ultimately prove to be their Achilles heel. San Francisco is playing at home, and New Orleans does not have a road playoff win in the franchise’s history (0-4). The 49ers have the best defensive player in football (Justin Smith), and arguably two of the next three on that list this season (ILB duo of Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman). They will also field the player that led the entire league in our Pass Rushing Productivity metric this season in the shape of Aldon Smith. If ever a defense was set up to combat the Saints, it’s the 49ers.

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Job done for the San Francisco 49ers.

The end result was slightly less comfortable than it both should and might have been for the position they got themselves into, but they got that crucial bye week and at least one home playoff game on their first visit in a decade. The 49ers pushed the envelope giving extensive play to some backups and the Rams pushed them all the way with a late comeback, but at the end of the day, the 49ers have earned two weeks off.

For the St Louis Rams, this was a fine effort in what was–if you believe the reports–the final game for head coach Steve Spagnuolo. While some fine performances almost gave them another upset win over a playoff team, the Rams’ shortcomings on offense and defense bit them again. Once the uncertainty over the future of their head coach and general manager are decided, attention will turn to free agency and the draft. How to turn around the fortunes of a team that hasn’t had a winning season 2003? Read the rest of this entry »

Last year, the NFC West was embarrassed by having a team steal a playoff spot and a home playoff game by registering a 7-9 record with a Week 17 win. In 2011, their divisional champion will secure a bye week with a victory over the same opponent that lost the final game of the 2010 regular season. The division champ has once again changed, as the San Francisco 49ers finally take the mantle they were expected to walk away with last season. The team on the receiving is once again the St Louis Rams who with a loss will walk away with their third season of two wins or less in the last four. The Rams could even be picking first for the second time in three years as an injury ravaged season (all of the cornerbacks they took to training camp are on injured reserve for example) has seen them plumb the depths of the NFL. Read the rest of this entry »

The Seahawks where looking to keep their playoff hopes alive by knocking off division rival San Francisco, but the 49ers had different plans. As they did in Week 1, the 49ers were looking to punish Seattle into submission and crush any hope of playoff glory.

Seattle is a much-improved football team since the last time these two met. The Seahawks were riding the highs of an impressive running game and a defense keen on taking the ball away from their opponent, but a lack of takeaways and pressure caught up to them in this one.

As for the 49ers, they just keep on winning. Every week it’s the same thing, stout defense and ball control on offense. The 49ers are still looking to lock up that first round bye with a final victory in Week 17. Read the rest of this entry »

At the beginning of the 2011 season this might have been a decider for the NFC West. The defending champion Seattle Seahawks building in their second season under Pete Carroll and the San Francisco 49ers finally making best use of the talent on their roster under the direction of their new head coach. Only one of those pre-season prophecies has been realized but with a late season surge of form the Seahawks are still not out of playoff contention and this matchup is still one of the most intriguing on the Week 16 slate. After a crucial Monday night win over the Steelers the 49ers, coming off a short rest, have two divisional games left to clinch a first round bye whilst the Seahawks require two wins to have any hope of a playoff game. Something has got to give in this game.

The first encounter between these two squads all the way back in September in Week 1 gave some early signs to how far out in front the 49ers would be in this division with a 16pt victory, but few thought they would be in the running for a first round bye. The Seahawks have made strides since then and with their home field crowd behind them on Christmas Eve the atmosphere is sure to be electric as Seattle seeks to stay alive in the playoff hunt. Here are three matchups to keep an eye on as this game unfolds.

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Nationally televised games offer players a chance to raise their profile with a big performance in front of the entire football nation. Situational players and those from off-the-radar teams have the chance to grab the limelight and give their name a much needed boost.

This Monday night, in a statement game for the San Francisco 49ers, their first-round pick Aldon Smith did just that, exhibiting in one game what he has been doing all season for the 49ers as a situational pass rusher. As with other rookies converting to a 3-4 defense, Smith’s rookie season has been limited to playing in nickel defenses as a pass rusher. This has allowed the 49ers to make excellent use of his phenomenal pass-rushing talents without putting excess pressure on him to learn an entire defensive playbook in order to contribute in all facets of the base defense. Read the rest of this entry »

The timing of Ben Roethlisberger’s ankle sprain could hardly have been worse with the Steelers travelling to Candlestick Park. Containing the trio of Aldon Smith, Justin Smith and Ray McDonald is a tall task in itself but with Ben’s inability to escape sacks and extend plays it made it all the more difficult. It didn’t help that the left side of Pittsburgh’s line played so pitifully but then better players than Max Starks, Trai Essex and Doug Legursky have suffered at the hands of this San Francisco defense.

For the 49ers it was another game where smash mouth football paid off. Alex Smith failed to capitalise on some early drives where they were forced to settle for field goals but he got better as the game went along. His perfectly weighted pass on a play action throwback to Vernon Davis highlighted just how far he’s come this season.

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