San Franciso 49ers: Grading the Week 4 Win

Oh, what a beautiful day to be a 49er fan. Not only did we just beat the “Dream Team” and take a two-game lead in the, um, ferocious NFC West...but we did it on the road in stunning fashion!

That 3-1 record has never looked better. The offense looked unstoppable in the second half (if mildly crippled in the first), and the defense forced key turnovers to seal the deal. Lots of sloppy special teams play on both sides, plus a bonehead play by Ronnie Brown definitely helped. But either way, the Niners took it home.

Alex Smith did a fine job leading the comeback, and Frank Gore finally busted out. Here are my Week 4 grades for the 49ers' big win over the Philadelphia Eagles:

Passing Game: A-

It’s funny how quickly people start believing in Alex Smith after a game like this. The embattled QB had one of his best career performances in leading the Niners back from a 20-point deficit. Smith finished 21-33 with 291 yards and two touchdowns.

For the third time in four games, he did not throw an interception. And although he fumbled in the first half and it led to points for the Eagles, Smith more than made up for it later on.

He spread the ball to eight different receivers and 12 of his completions went to Joshua Morgan, Vernon Davis or Michael Crabtree. That just feels so good to write.

The day that Smith out-quarterbacked Michael Vick looked like an impossible dream. Well, wake up folks. It just happened.

Smith looked particularly impressive on the first scoring drive of the second half, when he went 9-9 and capped it with a 30-yard strike to Morgan. Smith looked much more calm and composed in the pocket than last week even. And who in their right mind would expect a performance like this after the awful games he’s played under pressure in the past?

I really think Jim Harbaugh’s influence on Smith is showing, and while it’s certainly too soon to definitively state this, we could be finally seeing the real Alex Smith now that he’s in an ideal situation. Time will tell.

Running Game: A

What. A. Relief.

Frank Gore is, after all, not broken and busted. I’m sure a huge part of his success in Philly had to do with splitting more carries with Kendall Hunter, but Gore sure looked good when he got the ball.

He scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fast, powerful run and finished the day with 127 yards on 15 carries (an 8.5 average, six full yards more than what he was averaging through the first three games!).

Hunter carried the ball nine times for 38 yards and made a huge impact catching the ball out of the backfield. He racked up 62 yards on two catches.

I’m not quite sure why Anthony Dixon hasn’t been getting looks, especially in short-yardage situations. But, I’m not going to try and squeeze him into the rotation if the Gore-Hunter combo is going to be so consistently destructive.

I really shouldn’t give the running game an overall “A,” since the offensive line was still shoddy. But I’m too pumped about this win to be rational. Plus, I’m kind of tired of ragging on such an awful unit.

To their credit, they did open plenty of holes in the second half for Gore and Hunter. Anthony Davis looked pretty bad, even getting called for two tripping penalties (who does that?), but again, we won. So I’m going to take it easy on him and his buddies.

Front 7: A

The 49ers’ defensive line and linebackers are the best students in the class on a regular basis. I might as well start drafting Week 5’s grades and give them an “A” right now. This unit is proving itself over and over to be one of the best in the league.

Michael Vick had a solid 75 yards rushing and escaped a sure sack on his first passing touchdown, but the Philadelphia running game looked non-existent.

Patrick Willis and NaVarro Bowman held the Eagles’ running backs to a combined 33 yards on 12 carries. And Willis even just stared at Ronnie Brown on a play at the goal line and forced Brown with his mind to fumble the ball in the most idiotic way possible. Okay, seriously that was a nice break, but the run defense was fantastic.

Aldon Smith had a breakout game with 1.5 sacks. I’m becoming more and more impressed with his athletic ability. He’s starting to look like one of the biggest surprise successes from the first round this year. I can’t wait until he’s fully ready to go so we can have that legit pass rush we’ve been thirsting for since Andre Carter left.

And just to cap the stellar effort, let us not forget about Justin Smith. He made an incredibly athletic play at the beginning of a drive that could have spelled doom for the 49ers. After a swing pass to speedy receiver Jeremy Maclin, Smith somehow chased him down from behind and knocked the ball out. It was promptly recovered by Dashon Goldson and that basically sealed the deal for San Francisco. 

Secondary: B-

Okay, Carlos Rogers had an interception and there were a few nice plays, and Dashon Goldson had 10 tackles. But, Vick still burned the Niners secondary for 416 yards through the air. That’s just a bit ridiculous, and not exactly forgivable in most cases. This week, I’m making another exception.

My reasoning is that to beat a team like the Eagles, the defense must gel together and play a great game overall. It really did take a complete team effort to hold that talented offense to 23 points, including only two touchdowns in seven trips to the red zone. I think the secondary played well again. Not an amazing effort, but good enough and definitely better than we are used to.

I still think Goldson is making a huge impact back there; ever since his return, the corners have played better and the coverage in general has been much tighter. One thing they do have to work on is limiting the big play.

Five different Philly receivers averaged double-digit yardage on their catches, and the Eagles had 13 plays of 15 or more yards on the day overall. That’s going to be a big problem down the road if it’s not patched up.

Special Teams: C+

You’d think I’d just fail the special teams since Ted Ginn Jr. didn’t have any huge returns, David Akers shanked a field goal and had another one blocked and Andy Lee even had one bad punt. But, whether or not it was a direct effect of the 49ers’ scheme, Eagles rookie kicker Alex Henery missed two field goals of his own that absolutely kept our comeback chances alive.

And even more importantly, Lee and Akers kept the ball away from DeSean Jackson on punts and kickoffs. That in itself is huge, because he’s such a dangerous returner and even a return that set the Eagles up in good field position would have also ruined the comeback. So, while I certainly hope Akers gets over those misses before next week, I have to give the special teams props for containing Jackson.

Coaching: A

Harbaugh did so many things right this week. Where do I even start? First of all, whatever he said in the locker room did wonders.

Sure, it’s up to the players on the field ultimately, but it starts at the top. And obviously, the coaching staff pulled all the right moves at halftime to get the 49ers going. Also, he won both his challenges, earning a bonus third one. Not bad, Jim.

I don’t know if people outside the 49er fan base are recognizing how well Harbaugh has done with Alex Smith this season. He’s got this kid’s confidence sky high for the first time in his career and playing at a level that allows us to complain about other aspects of the team for once.

The old coaching regimes would have panicked and possibly pulled Smith or made wild play calls. Harbaugh stayed cool in a hostile environment on the road, and sowed the seeds for Smith to use on those scoring drives in the second half.

I loved seeing Harbaugh and the defensive coordinator going crazy on the sideline when Goldson recovered the game-clinching fumble at the end of the game too. If nothing else, this coaching staff is completely committed to the San Francisco organization and getting them back to prominence. They are finding ways to win, and having a great time doing it.

Overall: A

Let’s just get these out of the way now: The 49ers caught some breaks. Brown’s fumble/pass/fist pump/what was that, anyway? The missed field goals by Henery and a couple other things that fell into place perfectly. But, they didn’t score after that fumble and missed two field goals of their own. Essentially, that all balanced out.

Smith looked great leading the most important second-half comeback of his career, Gore made a statement on the ground and the defense played a spirited second half. Harbaugh’s play-calling was miles better than the first three weeks, especially in the second half. 

This 49ers team showed that they are capable of a few things. They can win on the road, they can beat a good team and they can come from behind. Those are things that all successful teams must be able to do. I’m loving the momentum of the team going forward after this big win, and we stand a much better chance next week against the Bucs than I originally thought.

I will admit, I have been a huge Smith apologist for the longest time. But, I proudly repped my No. 11 jersey all day after that win. And if not for general standards of cleanliness, I might still be wearing it today. One thing all Niner faithful can agree on is that Frank Gore is awesome. With that in mind, check out this quote of his after the game:

‎"You ain't seen nothing yet," Gore said of his quarterback. "Eleven is coming. He's coming. Y'all ain't seen nothing yet."

I love it. I’m going to go ahead and trust the guy with that assertion and expect a high level of play from Alex from now on. I’ll scoot over so the rest of you can jump on the bandwagon!

Anyway, the most important part is that the 49ers are 3-1 and a slip away from being 4-0. San Francisco is two games up in the NFC West, and finally playing like a functional team that gives itself a chance to win every week. Here’s to hoping they keep it up against Tampa Bay next Sunday.