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The San Francisco 49ers beat the New York Giants on Sunday 16-10 for their second consecutive victory to boost their record to 6-4. As of right now, they are right in the thick of the wild card race, but they are going to have to play significantly better if they are going to make the playoffs.
Last week, the 49ers needed overtime to beat the New Orleans Saints, which typically is nothing to scoff at especially in the Superdome, but this year the Saints are a bad football team. Sunday, the 49ers had five interceptions off Eli Manning yet still only won by six, and were four yards away from being behind late in the fourth quarter.
The main issue for the 49ers is their offense. Based on all of the injuries on the defensive side of the ball, you would think their defense would be the issue but it has been outstanding without Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman. Aldon Smith came back from his nine-game suspension on Sunday, and although he didn’t record a tackle or a sack, he did have two quarterback hits and was a huge presence.
The 49ers’ defense came into the game as a top eight defense, and while they gave up some yards on Sunday, they also forced five turnovers and were the reason they walked away from New York with a victory. Having Smith back is huge, but you have to wonder if not having Willis and Bowman will come back to bite them later in the year.
If the 49ers are going to make the playoffs though, their offense has got to be way better. Even though the stats look fine and Colin Kaepernick didn’t turn the ball over again on Sunday, they weren’t able to score much. The past couple of weeks, they have gotten back to their bread and butter by running the ball often and well with Frank Gore and they need to continue to do that.
The passing game has been very inconsistent, which is a surprise considering the weapons Kaepernick has at his disposal. Vernon Davis has not done much of anything this year, and Michael Crabtree has been inconsistent. Anquan Boldin is a steady receiver for them and has had a very good year so far, but it comes down to Kaepernick’s consistency.
Kaepernick has protected the ball pretty well this year, throwing only five interceptions, but has missed some throws that he should make, which has led to drives stalling out. He has also been sacked more than anyone in the league this year as the offensive line has had injuries.
The 49ers certainly have the talent on both sides of the ball to make the playoffs and be a huge threat when they get there. But as of right now, the offense not been consistent enough to believe that this is true a contender. If Kaepernick gets protection and starts to hit throws more consistently, the 49ers will be a major threat, but right now they don’t have the look of a playoff team.
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