The San Francisco 49ers came out in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints, and took a 14-0 lead. Nobody saw the Saints trailing by that margin, but eventually, New Orleans got the read on San Francisco and started coming back. They even took the lead, forcing the 49ers to come back twice to win it in the final seconds. What was most impressive was the fact that San Francisco could actually come back like that.
Even more surprising is the fact that Alex Smith has led six fourth quarter comebacks this season and still a comeback was surprising. Are you following?
It's just hard to really process that it happened, even if we've seen the 49ers do that kind of thing all season. They won the kind of game they were supposed to win. There were players and coaches who stepped up when things weren't following the script, and it came out in San Francisco's favor. That was the kind of thing this team has been unable to do for many years now.
When Michael Crabtree dropped a couple passes in a row, it was Vernon Davis who stepped up big time. He had two touchdowns and 180 yards off of seven receptions, breaking an NFL postseason record for a tight end in a single game. Joe Staley and Mike Iupati had huge games when the right side of the line struggled and Jonathan Goodwin missed some time. When the gameplan was atrocious, Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman threw in that beautiful Alex Smith run that went for a touchdown.
That's a team that doesn't give up. A team that knows how to adjust. Something like that has taken this team far, and continue to take them far so long as they can do it. They need to adapt to the situation, never give up and win at all costs. The 49ers did that on Saturday.