And so we reach the finale of our season. The various season reviews I'll put together will contain plenty more information, but suffice it to say, this was quite an interesting season. We saw Frank Gore prominently thrust himself onto center stage in the NFL. We saw Alex Smith take some sizable steps forward. We saw Larry Allen continue his Hall of Fame career. And most importantly in my mind, we got to experience the ups and downs of a playoff push. The push fell short, but it has been a fun season nonetheless.
And so we reach Week 17:
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SB Nation Cross Blog: Mile High Report
Gametime: 1:15pm Pacific, 4:15pm Eastern
Weather: High: 34°F; Precipitation: 0%
Best Case Scenario
49ers 23 - Denver 20: This was my prediction over at the Mile High Report and needless to say, I think this is the most optimistic I can get. The team is decimated by injuries and will need a whale of a game from Frank Gore to stay in this and potentially pull the upset. If this is too happen the 49ers will need to get a pass rush going against Jay Cutler and force the rookie to make mistakes.
Worst Case Scenario
Denver 45 - 49ers 6: If the 49ers come out flat in a "meaningless" game, the Broncos could roll over them. In this scenario the Bell's run like crazy, Cutler lights up the 49ers and our offense is just too flat and one-dimensional
Prediction
49ers 23 - Denver 20 - This is the last game of the season and we can end the Broncos season with a win thanks to KC and Cincinnati winning. So I saw we be optimistic and go for that win. It'll hurt our draft position but it'll do wonders for heading into next year in my opinion. You can only play for the draft for so many years!
And here's hoping we roll out the throwbacks and make them permanent soon!
***EDITOR'S NOTE***Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in overtime with a 67-yard Roethlisberger TD pass to Santonio Holmes and Kansas city edged out Jacksonville 35-30. A Denver win and they're win, a Denver loss and KC is in.