Week Eighteen

 Los Angeles 21, San Francisco 20

Forty-one years ago almost to the day, the 1982 49ers' season ended with a 21-20 loss at home to the Los Angeles Rams, a game decided by a blocked extra point.

Perhaps Jake Moody, who missed the extra point that decided the game Sunday, and also missed a field goal, can take solace that Ray Wersching, the 49er kicker back in '82, played on two Super Bowl champions.

So the Rams, who finished the season 7-1, earned a 10-win campaign and a date at Detroit, not Dallas, this coming weekend. The Goffs and the Staffords face off at 8:20 PM on Sunday night.

They were pretty good with Carson Wentz at quarterback, a little better than were the 49ers with Sam Darnold. Both gave creditable auditions for "bridge QB" jobs next year in places like Washington, Las Vegas, New England, and possibly Denver.   Wentz led the Rams from a 20-7 deficit to a fourth-quarter rally and win. Darnold made two good passes downfield trying to upstage him in the final seconds and give Moody a shot at redemption, but the game ended on a sack and fumble. 

Of the 49ers' four possible playoff opponents next weekend, Philadelphia seems the most likely; we expect the Igs to snap out of their tailspin and beat Tampa on Monday night. Next likely would be the Rams, who we figure are even-steven in Detroit. The Bucs are a little less likely, and we give Green Bay no chance at Dallas. It's rather impressive the Packers made it at all.

Who would have considered the two winningest coaches in America, Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, both would step down (or be ushered down) within the same week? No less than eight NFL teams will be looking for new coaches, and among the fired we believe Mike Vrabel and Ron Rivera likeliest to find quick employment.  Of the available jobs, Atlanta and the LA Chargers seem to offer the best chance for a quick turnaround, though the respective owners of those teams are a mile apart in reputation.  

And we trust everyone else is as appalled as we are that the NFL has decided, for the first time, to charge money to watch a single NFL game-- the playoff between Miami and Kansas City on Saturday night, available only on NBC's "Peacock" subscription streaming channel. At least they're obliged to carry the game over the air in the Miami and KC markets, for the hometown fans. The rest of us can apparently either pay up or suck eggs. We'll have ours Benedict with plenty of Tabasco.  

Week Seventeen

 49ers 27, Washington 10

No turnovers.  A dominant fourth quarter. 184 rushing yards, most of them after halftime.  38 minutes of possession.  408 total yards against 225. In other words, pretty much what we expected the 49ers to do against a tough but undermanned opponent. And the purpose of the whole thing was quietly achieved: San Francisco clinched the top seed, home-field advantage, and the first-round bye for the first time since 2019, when they went to the Super Bowl and almost won it.

Leading only 13-10, the 49er defense opened the third quarter with three-and-out, followed by the offense launching a seven-minute touchdown drive that ended with Elijah Mitchell, not Christian McCaffrey, scoring the touchdown.  

The last play of the third quarter decided the game. Charvarius (doesn't that sound like a Pokemon character?) Ward made a perfect break to intercept Sam Howell's pass at the 49er goal line, and the Commanders would not threaten again. 

You will never see a quarterback execute a play better than Brock Purdy did on his escape, rollout, improv, field direction, and deep  touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk with 9:30 remaining. It capped a 95-yard (105 counting a needless holding penalty) drive after Ward's pickoff. Mitchell gained 28 of those yards as the team's lone running back after our MVP candidate was idled for the duration with a strained calf.  It was 27-10, Purdy had 224 passing yards at that point, and the Niners went run, run, run the rest of the way-- 36 total carries on the day, averaging five yards a pop.  

Now comes an essentially meaningless last-game showdown with the Rams, who also clinched a playoff spot Sunday, as we predicted they would in preseason. An LA win over the 49ers would ensure  them the sixth seed and a date against the Lions in Detroit-- Matthew Stafford against Jared Goff.  You know you want to see that one.

As for the 49ers, two full weeks of R&R for many, likely including Trent Williams as well as McCaffrey.  The first playoff game at Levi Stadium will be played on January 20 or 21.  Don't that sound nice?