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49ers get critical win over the Broncos in London
By Morris Phillips October 31, 2010 |
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San Francisco 49ers’ fans, meet the team’s new foreign ambassador: Troy Smith. In front of 83,941 enthusiastic fans in London, Ambassador Smith allowed the 2-6 49ers to present themselves in the best possible light, leading the embattled team to a 24-16 win over the Denver Broncos. Coach Mike Singletary surprised everyone by naming Smith his starter on Monday, and Smith responded, leading the 49ers through a game-changing fourth quarter rally that overcame the stumbling Broncos. Smith quickly gained the confidence of his teammates with his ability to create plays on the move, and avoid costly turnovers, even as he struggled through a ragged opening half. Throughout, the quarterback who hadn’t made an NFL start since 2007 when he was with the Ravens, kept his focus on the internationally-accepted football credo that would insure he maintained the support of his teammates: thou must make plays. “I think that the only way that all the guys can really have that understanding, is you making plays,” Smith related. “And that goes back to my preparation. I’m going to continue to prepare. That’s my only salvation, that’s the only thing that makes me comfortable with the game plan.” “From the time that he found out that he was starting, he just dug in the playbook,” teammate Shawntae Spencer said of Smith. “He hasn’t been out sightseeing with the rest of us. He hasn’t really been enjoying himself. He dug in, he did what he had to do, and it showed tonight.” Repeatedly, Smith kept plays alive, by using his feet as well as his head, in not trying to force anything that could backfire and lead to a damaging turnover in a close game. Smith’s ability and discipline intersected perfectly on a play early in the fourth quarter, where Smith scrambled right and heaved a pass to the goal line that somehow eluded the reach of the Denver secondary and found the waiting hands of the backpedaling Delanie Walker. Smith’s 38-yard completion led to the 49ers’ initial touchdown two plays later, when Smith called his own number on a sweep right that led him into the end zone untouched. The well-spoken Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, inspires confidence. But with the 49ers trailing 10-3 early in the fourth quarter, Smith had nearly exhausted the faith instilled in him by Singletary and his teammates. Smith had been ordinary in the first half, completing just 4 of 9 passes for 37 yards, and the 49ers survived on the strength on an effective, but pedestrian run game led by Frank Gore that had least kept the team from leaving its defense on the field too long, as it had done in the previous loss to Carolina. With the onset of the fourth quarter, the 49ers appeared in the midst of another underwhelming performance in a season full of them, when Smith took off. The former Raven completed 8 of 10 for 159 yards in the second half, getting the most out of his limited grasp of the team’s playbook, and the rest of the 49ers followed his lead. Smith followed his prayer to Walker with a second scoring drive on a short field that culminated with a 28-yard scoring pass to Michael Crabtree, putting the 49ers up 17-10. On Denver’s next possession, quarterback Kyle Orton scrambled for a nice gainer, only to have Manny Lawson chase him down and dislodge the football with a well-timed karate chop on Orton’s arm. Orton, a gifted pocket passer, was frequently pushed out of his comfort zone by an effective 49ers’ rush, and on this play, Orton was caught unaware with Lawson’s heady play. Unlike previous losses, most notably the heartbreaker in Atlanta, this time the 49ers forced the key turnover, which was the first of the game by either team. Five plays later, Gore barged in from three yards out, and the 49ers had only their second two-touchdown lead of the season, 24-10, with less than four minutes remaining. Fortunately for the 49ers, the Broncos were mistake-prone throughout, which more than the 14-point lead late prevented Denver from making a game of it. In the Broncos’ embarrassing loss to the Raiders in which they allowed 59 points in the first three quarters, their list of mistakes was near infinite. In this one, the Broncos continued to shoot themselves in the foot with short punts, promising drives that all stalled, and a pair of critical penalties that nullified a pair of touchdowns, including a 78-yard punt return that could have lead to a tie game with two minutes remaining. Of course, the snake bit 49ers welcomed each of Denver’s mistakes graciously, excepting whatever was needed that would allow them to temporarily reverse the course of their lost season. With the win, the 49ers reach their bye week at 2-6, but they could be just two games out of first place in the NFC West by the time they take the field again, at home against the Rams on November 12. And with Smith--in place of the injured Alex Smith--the 49ers have a new, much-needed focal point. Appropriately, Smith summed up the team’s week on foreign soil with an obvious, but critical, revelation. “It’s a long flight with a loss.” |
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