The San Francisco 49ers play their final game of the regular season as they look to salvage something positive from a dismal season in their Week 17 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.
San Francisco goes into the encounter having thrown a 21-point lead in a 38-35 overtime loss to the San Diego Chargers, a game that saw the offense once again struggle in the second half after producing its best performance of the campaign in the first half.
A combination of the disappointing second-half play on offense and a banged up defense contributed to the Niners' inability to hold on; however, there were plenty of silver linings from the loss.
Running back Frank Gore had his best game of the year, putting up 158 yards and a 52-yard touchdown run, which was only topped by a 90-yard scamper from Colin Kaepernick that marked the quarterback's first rushing touchdown of the season.
The offensive line allowed only two sacks, while rookie wideout Bruce Ellington had a rushing touchdown and a receiving score.
Arizona's defense is much better than that of the Chargers; however, it proved to be a vulnerable unit in the Week 16 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks, who finished the game with a franchise-record 596 offensive yards in a 35-6 rout.
With the Niners' season already effectively over, the attention has switched to the future of head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer claims that the 49ers will cut ties with Harbaugh within 48 hours after the end of the regular season. If that is the case, then Harbaugh will undoubtedly want to end his largely successful tenure with San Francisco with a win.
Against the playoff-bound Cardinals, for whom rookie quarterback Logan Thomas will make his first start, the Niners will need a complete performance to make that happen. Can they deliver? Here I break down what we can expect from San Francisco's season finale with five bold predictions for this divisional matchup.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1vcCk7F
via IFTTT December 24, 2014 at 01:40PM
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