NFC Playoff Predictions: Why 49ers are Guaranteed To Fail in January

It’s been a banner season for the San Francisco 49ers, but the dream season is about to turn dark rather quickly.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the 49ers aren’t built to win in in the playoffs.

Alex Smith and the offense sport the 29th- ranked passing attack, and have just cut receiver Braylon Edwards. That means after Michael Crabtree, the 49ers best wide receiver is Kyle Williams, a guy who has a grand total of 20 catches for 241 yards this season.

Out of 15 QBs to start every game for their team, Smith is dead last with 2,931 passing yards. Sure, he has thrown a league low five interceptions (something that can’t be ignored), but he has also taken more sacks than any other player in the league at 41.

I know the defense leads the NFL in fewest points allowed this season, but that is partially the product of playing in the NFC West. While the division is certainly better than last year, it still sports a Seahawks team that’s 24th in points, a Cardinals team ranked 25th and a Rams team that’s dead last.

Couple that with wins over the offensively challenged Buccaneers (27th), Browns (30th) and Redskins (26th) and we are talking about nine games against some of the worst offenses in the league. This isn’t a knock against San Fran, just an indicator that the defense may not be as good as the numbers suggest.

With pass-happy Atlanta and Detroit the two NFC Wild Cards, the 49ers defense has to be almost perfect to cover up the limitations of Smith.

The king of check downs is built to play with the lead and facing a large deficit early would be a death wish for the 9ers. They need a lead or a small deficit in order to keep the chains moving with Frank Gore and set up third and short situations for Smith to feel comfortable.  For all of the success Smith has had this season, it’s hard to forget the first six disastrous years for the first pick of the 2005 draft.

There is too much pressure on the defense and Gore to play perfect and it equates to stupid mistakes that would never typically occur, especially with a team that has very little playoff experience on the roster.

Enjoy the ride now, San Fran, because its light’s out for good at Candlestick this year in less than two weeks.