San Francisco 49ers Fumble, New York Giants Advance to Super Bowl

There was nothing pretty about the NFC championship game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

The rain led to sloppy conditions and injuries piled up.

After the clouds cleared and the slop softened, the Giants wound up beating the 49ers in overtime, 20-17, after the third Kyle Williams fumble in the contest.

The first came on an trick play on offense that was luckily recovered by San Francisco.  

The second came on an indecisive punt return in which the ball nicked Williams' knee and wound up in the arms of the New York Giants.

It felt like just a matter of time until Williams' was due for yet another—after all, these things come in threes.  That other came in overtime, when it mattered most.  

Sadly, and maybe on some level, unfairly, Kyle Williams will be the culprit for the San Francisco 49ers loss in the NFC championship game against the New York Giants.

Williams was the second-string wide receiver on a day when Ted Ginn Jr, the Pro Bowl alternate at punt returner for the NFC behind Devin Hester, was sidelined with a knee injury.

It was a loss that the 49ers simply could not overcome, as Ginn had been the first real return threat in recent memory.  

Ginn, who was a breath of fresh air this season not only as a returner but as a field stretcher, was woefully missed in a game where the San Francisco 49ers offense was exposed for its ultimate lack of playmaking ability.

San Francisco went 1-13 on third down on offense; a stat that mirrored their output in the game prior verses the Saints, yet one that no one paid real attention to.

Sure, Frank Gore and Vernon Davis played well versus the Giants and all season, but the loss of Josh Morgan early on and the failed Braylon Edwards experiment led to a major void at the wide receiver position.

Michael Crabtree was the only one left and it's becoming clear that he is not a No. 1 receiver.

Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are three threats at WR; the 49ers have no one on that level.

Those are the kind of players that the 49ers need to get if they want to really contend with the big boys because in the playoffs, it doesn't matter how good your defense is (Baltimore 2000 and Chicago 1985), it matters how good your team is.

The Giants proved a lot of things this Championship Sunday, one of them being that no aspect of their team was an illusion.

The 49ers did every possible thing to hang in and win the game.  

They had less talent and less continuity, but plenty of heart.

And although Kyle Williams might be blamed on some level, this San Francisco 49ers team had done it with mirrors on offense.

Their offense was predicated on hard running and sound coaching. 

On defense, the 49ers were one of the best in the league, thanks to talent, scheme and execution.

The 49ers defense held the New York Giants to a measly 20 points on offense, 10 coming directly from Kyle Williams' mistakes.

After it was all over, it was yet another game for the ages between these two teams.

It was a physical game.

It was, indeed, a championship game.