4 Things the San Francisco 49ers Must Do to Win the Super Bowl

The San Francisco 49ers had an outstanding 2011 season, winning seven more games than they did in 2010. Despite two great playoff performances, the team lost in the NFC championship game, finishing just one play away from making it to the Super Bowl for the first time in over 15 years.

While the ultimate goal each season is to win the big game, most 49ers fans were likely thrilled with the turnaround.

This season, however, the team has added several quality players to the roster and has had a full offseason to improve under Coach Harbaugh.

San Francisco has a few things that need to be done in order to meet their Super Bowl expectations.

Highlighted over the next few slides are four things that the 49ers need to do if they want a spot in Super Bowl XLVII.  

Win Divisional Games

San Francisco won the NFC West division title last season by five games, and they are the obvious favorites to win it again.

That said, both the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks finished strong last year, going a combined 11-5 in the second half of the season.

If those two teams can continue their momentum and pick up a few quick wins, then the 49ers are not going to be able to run away with the division early like they did last year.

With a schedule that is virtually the same, one thing San Francisco needs to focus on is winning the games that they should—the two against the Rams and at least two of the four between Seattle and Arizona.

Run the Ball

Between Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, the San Francisco 49ers had arguably the best running back duo in football in 2011. Between the two of them, they rushed for 1,684 yards and had a combined 10 touchdowns.

At some point during the offseason, the front office decided that the eighth-best rushing attack in football is not good enough. San Francisco added Brandon Jacobs through free agency and drafted LaMichael James out of Oregon.

With a Pro Bowl running back and three above-average backups, there is no reason why the 49ers can’t run the ball 35-40 times a game.

Get the Ball to Davis

A lot of people have taken it easy on Alex Smith due to the fact that he has had next to nothing for weapons other than Vernon Davis. This year, however, that will change.

In addition to adding the two running backs mentioned in the previous slide, the 49ers were also able to sign Randy Moss and Mario Manningham and draft Illinois standout A.J. Jenkins.

With the amount of talent that opposing defenses will have to deal with, Davis should see a lot of one-on-one coverage. You can almost guarantee that he will be open, and it is the coaching staff's job to design a variety of different plays for him.

Keep It Up, Defense

Anyone who watched the NFL last season knows that the San Francisco 49ers have one of the most dominant defenses in all of football.

They finished fourth in total yards allowed, first in run defense, tied for second in interceptions (23) and tied for seventh in sacks (42).

With the exception of Dashon Goldson, who is still in contract negotiations with the team, San Francisco has all of their players returning on defense.

This unit will have to continue to be great for San Francisco in order for them to have a shot at the Lombardi Trophy this season.