San Francisco 49ers Keep Playoff Hope Alive with Win over Last-Place Ravens

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — One thing is certain after this 25-20 Week 6 win by the San Francisco 49ers: They were better than the last-place Baltimore Ravens at home for a day.

Although Baltimore probably should have won this game, for the following five reasons.

Reason No. 1: Wide receiver Steve Smith dropped two passes in the end zone

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

In both cases, Smith was open and the ball bounced off his hands. And in both cases, the Ravens ended up kicking field goals.

If Smith, perhaps a future Hall of Famer, had made those catches, the Ravens would have scored 28 points instead of 20, and the game would have been totally different. The Niners probably wouldn’t feel so good about themselves right now.

Reason No. 2: The Niners kicked four field goals

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The Niners moved the ball at will against a terrible defense but could not score a touchdown in the red zone—they were 0-for-3. The Niners might have finished the game with just 12 points if cornerback Shareece Wright weren’t on the field.

The Niners cut Wright on October 10, and the Ravens signed him three days later. Baltimore had to start him against the Niners because starting cornerback Lardarius Webb was injured. So, the Niners went right after Wright.

First, Torrey Smith beat Wright for a touchdown. Smith ran a stutter-and-go double move and faked out Wright. Easy touchdown. Next, Wright actually tripped over himself and fell while covering Quinton Patton. Another easy touchdown.

After the game, a reporter asked Anquan Boldin if facing Wright in practice and training camp helped the Niners receivers.

“Definitely,” Boldin said. “When you have a guy on your team for that long, you get to see him every day in practice. You understand his weaknesses…as well as his strengths.” Boldin smirked. “That was…one of the things that we wanted to attack today.”

Reason No. 3: Kicker Justin Tucker slipped and missed a field goal

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker attempted a 45-yard field goal—not a gimme, but not an extraordinarily difficult kick, either. His plant foot slipped on the awful Levi’s Stadium grass—he looked like he fell into a sinkhole—and the ball bounced off the upright. Fluke.

Reason No. 4: Joe Flacco threw two careless interceptions

Ben Margot/Associated Press

In the football world, Joe Flacco is a made man. He won a Super Bowl and has a mondo contract, so he can play carelessly and still feel secure.

He was extra careless Sunday. First, he threw a pass into double coverage and got intercepted. Then, he threw a deep pass right to cornerback Kenneth Acker and got intercepted—no Ravens receiver appeared to be in the area.

Those were rookie mistakes, mistakes Flacco typically doesn’t make.

After the game, Flacco seemed happy as could be. He ran into Boldin, his former teammate, outside of the locker room, smiled and gave him a big hug. You would have thought Flacco threw no picks and won. It’s good to be a made man.

Reason No. 5: The Ravens still were in position to win at the end

As poorly as Flacco played, and as poorly as Steve Smith played, and despite the existence of Shareece Wright, the Ravens could have won at the end. They had the ball at the Niners’ 35-yard line but ran out of time.

If Tucker made that fourth-quarter field goal instead of slipping on the grass, he could have kicked a game-winning field goal at the end. And if head coach John Harbaugh hadn’t wasted a timeout calling a foolish challenge, the Ravens might have had enough time to score a game-winning touchdown at the end despite Tucker’s slip.

So, the Niners really didn’t win this game—the Ravens lost it.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

That being said, the Niners’ record is now 2-4. On Thursday, they play the Seattle Seahawks, whose record also is 2-4. In four days, the Niners’ record could be 3-4. Imagine that.

As of now, they’re only a game-and-a-half behind the Minnesota Vikings for the second wild-card spot, and they beat the Vikings in Week 1. They may be better than the Vikings.

After the game, a reporter asked Torrey Smith if he feels the Niners are playoff contenders.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

“I think you definitely take it one game at a time,” Smith said. “You understand what’s at stake, but the more you win, the better position you’re going to be in. So, we’ve just got to figure out a way to win the next game. We can’t really look too far ahead. We aren’t in any position to even think about doing that, with our record.”

He’s right. For now, the Niners should be happy they won a game.

All quotations and observations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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