For Brady, Just a Little Too Late. For San Fran, the Playoffs Await

By Carly Nevis

The 49ers pulled off a few weekend’s ago that no other team has done in seven weeks, that is beat the Patriots. They also became just the second team to beat New England at home this season. The first team was also in the NFC West, the Cardinals… many months ago when Arizona actually had high hopes… but anyway.

AP Photo/ Elise Amendola

It was ugly, it was suspenseful, and it came down to the finish, but San Francisco pulled it off. With the victory, San Fran clinched a playoff berth and sits as the second seed in the NFC as of now.

Just what happened in this game to make Sunday night football fans “ooh” and “ahh” at the screen? Well for the first 3 quarters, the man, the myth and legend, Tom Brady was not himself. He threw two interceptions, one of them that eventually led to a touchdown in the third quarter.

The 49er’s defense allowed just one field goal in the first half, and just 10 New England points going into the fourth quarter. It would be safe for San Fran fans to do their victory dance with a 31-10 lead going in the fourth quarter, right? WRONG. Tom Brady crafted a 21-point comeback, one touchdown after another after yet another to tie the game at 31 in the middle of the fourth quarter.

But the 49ers would not let this one slip away. LaMichael James returned the next New England punt for 62 yards. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw a beautiful pass to Michael Crabtree for the touchdown which made it 38-31. But the game was sealed for the 49ers when Ricky Jean Francois sacked Brady to put an end to the New England drive. The 49ers eventually added a field goal to their lead to put this one in the books.

"We can win a shootout," Michael Crabtree told ESPN after the game. "Whatever it takes, that's our motto. ... We feel like we can do anything, sky's the limit."

You may wonder just how much you can take from a game that started off as a blow out, and ended in a nail biter. Well, for one, the 49ers are now in the playoffs. And even though the defense was weaker in the fourth quarter, a win is a win. The 49ers showed that they are good enough to beat even the best, which is a very good sign with just two weeks left in the season.