49ers make huge strides in overtime win

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Monday, September 15, 2008  |  Comments( 11 )

San Francisco 49ers
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San Francisco’s 33-30 overtime victory in Seattle on Sunday was improbable for a number of reasons. The 49ers were behind 14-0 and 17-6 to the NFC West rival Seahawks, and they probably wouldn't have been able to overcome those deficits in past seasons.

The 49ers also gave up eight sacks, had fewer than 100 net yards rushing as a team (93), allowed Julius Jones to run for 127 yards and watched normally reliable kicker Joe Nedney miss a 41-yard field goal as time expired in regulation.

With all of those strikes against the 49ers, how did they manage to win? The explanation has to start with the solid play of journeyman quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan, who became the first San Francisco signal-caller to throw for 300 yards since Tim Rattay did it in 2004.

O’Sullivan put together the kind of performance that makes the decision by coach Mike Nolan to start him over Alex Smith and Shaun Hill look like a stroke of genius. O’Sullivan finished the game with 20 completions, 321 yards and a touchdown on 32 attempts. More importantly, he didn't turn the ball over.

In addition to O’Sullivan’s strong outing, the 49ers' defense stepped up. Linebacker Patrick Willis made a big contribution with his 86-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. That interception, coupled with Nedney’s extra point, helped San Francisco tie the game at 20.

The 49ers also kept Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in check throughout the game. Granted, Hasselbeck was missing his top receivers, but the 49ers still managed to hold him to 189 yards passing and picked him off twice.

San Francisco also got the kind of effort from future Hall of Fame receiver Isaac Bruce that it was looking for when it signed him as a free agent in the offseason. Bruce, who didn’t catch a single pass in the team's Week 1 loss to Arizona, added four receptions for 153 yards in Seattle. Newcomer Bryant Johnson also impressed for the 49ers, amassing six catches and 78 yards.

As exciting as the win over Seattle was, the 49ers have little time to sit back and enjoy it. A record of 1-1 is obviously better than the alternative of 0-2, but San Francisco will soon find out if it is a true contender or a pretender in the NFC playoff race.

After Sunday’s home game against weak and winless Detroit, the 49ers embark on one of the most brutal four-game stretches imaginable. San Francisco plays New Orleans, New England, Philadelphia and the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in consecutive weeks. Those four teams are a combined 6-1 (Philadelphia plays Dallas on "Monday Night Football") in 2008.

If the 49ers are going to head into the month of November with an eye still on the playoffs, that four-game slate is the key. First, though, they'll need to take care of a Lions team that is among the worst in the league.

Whatever happens, it's clear the O'Sullivan-led 49ers are taking steps in the right direction.
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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every ...
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