That was a rather ugly game for a good portion of the time. It was one of those games in which the 49ers offense looked brilliant at times and stagnant at others. When the team hit the redzone, it was truly a time of head scratching, but touchdowns of 52 yards and 56 yards to Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams respectively said adamantly, "We don't need no stinkin' redzone!"
Had Vernon Davis not dropped a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith, it would have put an exclamation point on the fact that, while the 49ers struggled in the redzone, they cut their teeth without it. It's like entering a presidential race but skipping the initial smaller primaries. Who needs those small-time delegates?
Either way, the 49ers defense played strong, they were able to stop Steven Jackson from having a 100 yard game and did not allow a rushing touchdown once again.
Alex Smith gave way to Colin Kaepernick at 7:20 in the game, after going 17 for 23 for 274 yards and two touchdowns. Should have been three touchdowns, but either way, he finished with a 142.3 QB rating, a career high. Kaepernick's game was so-so, but then again, the 49ers offense was extremely basic at that point (some would say it was for large portions of the game), and there was a lot of running.
After the jump, I've got some more bullet points, but until then, how about a ... WHO'S GOT IT BETTER THAN US? NOOOOOBODY! The 49ers secure the NFC West division, and now will solely be looking at playoff seeding going forward.
- Seriously folks: Bruce Miller. I cannot stress enough how good this guy has been lately. His blocking assignments aren't always covered - as in there's still mental mistakes, but the guy is intense. Wildly intense. What you don't see on TV: Miller colliding with opposing players with ridiculous force on every single play.
- Adam Snyder played very well, at least in the run-blocking department. I'll need to evaluate him on the sacks given up, but I know that RT Anthony Davis was absolutely shredded by Chris Long. Thankfully, Aldon Smith made Adam Goldberg look like Kwame Harris at one point, with a big third down sack.
- I still think Alex Smith stayed in the game too long.
- Frank Gore moved into first place in the 49ers franchise history for rushing yardage. He deserves it, and I'm very proud to have him leading the way. David Akers broke the 49ers franchise record for field goals in a single season, which is both good and bad.
- Mike Iupati did not have a strong game. He was called for holding more than once, surrendered at least one sack, and all-in-all, looked off of his game. There was one play when he was to disengage, and move out to the right to pass block for Smith, and he just about walked to his assignment. It's not like he's suddenly regressing, but it was unquestionably a bad game for him.
- Aldon Smith wrecks people's souls. Seriously, that man is a wrecking machine. He picked up a couple sacks in the game, and had a hilarious "celebration", in which he sprinted off the field, slapped a couple hands, sat on the bench and took off his helmet. No "excessive demonstration" there.
- Dashon Goldson really loves to jump routes. He's getting confident, and it secured him an interception in this game, but he did give up a reception early by mis-timing his jump. Just a minor note.