San Francisco 49ers Want NFL to Change Box Score, Give Alex Smith Record

According to the box score from the San Francisco 49ers' game Monday night with the Arizona Cardinals, quarterback Alex Smith completed 18-of-19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

A great game by anyone's terms. However, to qualify for the all-time record for highest completion percentage in an game in NFL history, a player has to throw at least 20 passes in a game.

The 49ers are now petitioning the NFL to change the box score to 19-of-20 and they have a fairly valid reason.

In the fourth quarter Smith threw a pass along the line of scrimmage to Michael Crabtree on a 3rd-and-19 play. Crabtree had to take a step back to snag the ball before racing ahead for an eight-yard gain. The throw was ruled a backward pass and the play was marked down as a run.

“It definitely was a pass,” Harbaugh said (h/t Mercury News). “You guys are on to something.”

If Harbaugh and the 49ers get their wish and Smith’s stat line is changed to 19-of-20, he’ll be at 95 percent, the best completion percentage in a game in NFL history.

Kurt Warner currently hold the record for when he completed 24 of 26 passes (92.31 percent) in a 2009 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Vinny Testaverde, who went 21-of-23 in a 1993 game against the then-Los Angeles Rams, is behind him.

Can you imagine?

Alex Smith, who was widely regarded as a first-overall bust before his revival in Harbaugh's system, would go down in the history books as having the most accurate day in NFL history.

Not Aaron Rodgers. Not Brady or Brees. Not even Joe Montana. Alexander Douglas Smith would go down as having the most accurate day in NFL history.

This is not to say that Smith has not vastly improved over the last two seasons. His 102.1 rating is fourth best in the NFL and at the halfway mark Smith is on pace for a career high in touchdown passes and yards.

The NFL is expected to announce its decision Wednesday.