Coming into the 2011 season, nobody expected the San Francisco 49ers to be among the elite teams in the National Football League.
But with the hometown squad at 6-1 approaching the midway point in the season, there”s no denying where the 49ers rank right now: they”re the second-best team in football.
The defending-champion Green Bay Packers are clearly in their own class, undefeated at 7-0 and immersed in an incredible 13-game winning streak, but the 49ers are on their heels.
San Francisco has the second-best record in the NFL and the largest division lead (four games ahead of second-place Seattle in the lowly NFC West).
Defensively, the 49ers are dominant. They”ve allowed only 107 points this season, fewest in the NFL, and have forced 16 turnovers.
Several San Francisco stoppers are among the league”s best. Cornerback Carlos Rogers is eighth with three interceptions, linebacker NaVorro Bowman”s 68 tackles ranks second and linebacker Aldon Smith (6.5) and tackle Justin Smith (4.5) are top 20 in sacks.
There does seem to be a smoke-and-mirror effect with the offense (which ranks 24th in total yards, 26th in third-down conversion percentage and 31st in passing yards), but the group does enough to get the job done just about every week.
Frank Gore has really helped, leading the sixth-ranked rushing attack with 675 yards on the ground.
And as hard as it is to believe, Alex Smith has done his part too. While his individual numbers aren”t great (only 115 completions in 182 attempts, among the lowest in the league), he takes care of the ball.
In fact, the 49ers have just six turnovers, giving them the No. 2 turnover-differential in the NFL.
San Francisco is even having a good season on special teams.
Kicker David Akers is a decent 15-for-17 on field goals, punter Andy Lee is the second-best punter statistically with a 50.9 yards-per-punt average, and wide receiver Ted Ginn has two return touchdowns.
Add that all up and you get San Francisco riding a five-game winning streak into Sunday”s road matchup with the freefalling Washington Redskins.
The game begins an important four-game stretch for the 49ers during which they”ll face two teams with winning records (hosting the New York Giants and traveling to Baltimore to play the Ravens on Thanksgiving Day).
If San Francisco can squeeze out two or more wins during November, there”s a good chance the NFC”s second-best record will be by the bay.
The 49ers have nine games left, six of which are against teams that have combined for just seven wins, so they appear in good shape to finish the regular season no worse than 12-4.
First-year head coach Jim Harbaugh obviously deserves a lot of the credit for the team”s success so far, but if he can fix a few of San Francisco”s weak spots (like getting a receiver in the top 74 in yards or improving the 21st-ranked passing defense), then he could find himself leading an all-time team.
As it stands, Harbaugh seems guaranteed to guide the 49ers to their first playoff appearance since 2002 (a shocking drought for a franchise that missed the postseason just four times between 1981 and 2002).
Successful pro football has finally returned to San Francisco, but should the 49ers improve as a team and stay healthy, only time (and NorCal native Aaron Rodgers) will stand between them and a deep run in January.
Editor”s note: Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
