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		49ers alive and well after beating Seahawks By Morris Phillips December 12, 2010

	The 49ers entered Sunday’s game as the most relevant 4-8 team in NFL history, and then they went out and showed the Seahawks and anyone who cared what the fuss is all about. The improbable journey to the playoffs got a huge boost in the 49ers 40-21 whipping of first-place Seattle. In this one, the forgotten Alex Smith was the hero with 255 yards passing and three touchdowns, and the defense aided the effort with four picks of Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck. With the win, the 49ers pulled to within one game of the Seahawks and Rams with three games to play, despite their unimposing 5-8 record. In the altered reality of the NFC West, the key to understanding starts with a short memory. Forget all the losses, forget the mistake-plagued play of Alex Smith, and forget the subpar outing at Green Bay put forth by the 49ers’ secondary. Hard to forget some of the major themes that have to date doomed what was to be the 49ers’ breakout season? Of course, but on Sunday none of those things mattered. Just ask Smith, the reappointed savior and philosopher, to put it all in perspective. “Every guy that has a long career in this game has ups and downs, and it’s the guys who can mentally be prepared to deal with those and come back with a good attitude and deal with the stress of the position and stress of the season and still play well, those are the guys who have longevity,” Smith theorized. “Same with teams; those are the teams that are consistent and do the best. The teams that let that affect them too much carry into the next week and kind of get hung over by it. Those are the teams that struggle.” Just look at all the things Smith had to forget entering Sunday’s game. In the last six weeks, Smith was injured, and replaced by Troy Smith. The Heisman Trophy winner, who led the 49ers to consecutive victories, and had teammates saying all the right things about him—things they hadn’t said about Alex Smith—became the offensive leader. Coach Mike Singletary continued to side with Troy Smith even when Alex Smith became healthy enough to return, saying “Troy gives us the best chance to win.” The period of inactivity has made one thing pretty clear: Alex Smith’s six-year 49ers’ career will undoubtedly end at the conclusion of this season, when his contract expires. On top of all of that, Smith had lost four straight to the Seahawks, in which he led the 49ers to a total of only 26 points of offense. And the opening-day loss in Seattle this year still ranks as an emotional low after so many subsequent defeats. In that one, Smith started fast, leading the 49ers to an opening drive touchdown, but saw the afternoon crash under the weight of the Seattle pass rush in a 31-6 defeat. “Our backs were up against the wall: division game, you know, they got after us pretty good in the first game. Coming back down here, a lot of things playing into it, and the thing I felt best about today, I mean, total team win. I mean, everybody, I felt like, just did their job,” Smith said. Vernon Davis, who provided the initial score of the day, just two minutes in, on a 42-yard catch and run, said it best when describing Alex Smith’s renaissance. “He’s one of those guys that it doesn’t really matter what people do,” Davis said of Smith. “He’s going to come out and do his best every time.” Smith opened with two misfires and the crowd-- who hadn’t seen Smith since a shoulder injury knocked him out in the October 24 loss at Carolina—booed, anticipating another long afternoon with the quarterback that led the NFL in interceptions with nine at the time of his injury. But things changed fast on Sunday. First the 49ers grabbed the early lead on Davis’ score. Then they backed it up with a pair of field goals from Joe Nedney’s replacement, Jeff Reed, when the Seahawks tied it at seven. The second quarter saw Hasselbeck throw a pair of interceptions, and the 49ers added 17 more points to take a 30-7 halftime lead. In the second quarter, the 49ers showed their growth. First, Josh Morgan karate kicked and scratched his way into the end zone on a 15-yard catch and run. Then, Brian Westbrook and Smith teamed up on a 62-yard pass play that saw the 49ers recognize a Seattle full house blitz and check off to a quick hitter that was executed perfectly. After halftime, Hasselbeck was picked again, this time by Dashon Goldson, who returned it 39 yards for a 37-7 49ers lead. During a stretch starting in the second quarter and in to the third, the Seahawks committed all four interceptions and lost a fumble in six possessions, allowing the 49ers to put this one away. Now the 49ers ready themselves for a quick turnaround and a trip to San Diego to take on the Chargers on Thursday night, and get this, it’s not a must win. How? If the 49ers lose Thursday, but win at St. Louis, and then at home against Arizona in the season finale, they’ll finish 7-9. If that happens, along with the Seahawks losing to Tampa Bay (8-5) and Atlanta (11-2) and the Rams losing to either Kansas City (8-5) or at Seattle in their season finale, the 49ers will be in, based on tie breakers, most importantly their 5-1 record within the NFC West. Got it? Not easy, given all the moving parts, but probable, given the struggles of the teams involved. “Today’s win, that was great, but we know we have three more and in particularly, one more this week,” Singletary said. “Today means nothing if we go next week… or you know, next week we don’t play well. So it’s very important that we have very little room for error and we have to understand that.”