Hot! 49ers Made Their First Playoff Game In Nine Years One For The Ages - San Jose Mercury News - Mark Purdy

In fact, by the next engage in of these 36-32 victory around the particular New Orleans Saints in which the cause altered palms four periods during the end five units 49er a problem tackle Joe Staley thought while if he / she experienced aged simply by something like 20 years.

"It has been surreal," reported Staley. "It was crazy. It was amazing. Everybody talks about what it's going to be like. And you can be expecting it, however the complete setting . . .I'm exhausted. I'm literally drained."

Fans must really feel the same way, and up so. If were you to a teenager reviewing that psychological back-and-forth meats grinder in addition to agonizing

with every single breeze belonging to the ball, you could possibly these days qualify for Medicare.

Jim Harbaugh, who seem to orchestrated the whole internet business in his initial playoff game for a mind coach, had been a bit sapped connected with energy himself.

"This," Harbaugh said, "was an all-day sucker."

And here had been the actual flavor: Confetti Upset Swirl.

Surreal can be not an inaccurate expression to be able to describe just what has happened using the 49ers with the past half a dozen months. Last summer, these were regarded a good also-ran NFL team. Now, along with Harbaugh driving all of them and quarterback Alex Smith having one of the most astonishing career resurgences in pro football history, they're just sprinting into the NFC subject video game next Sunday in opposition to often your Green Bay Packers or even New York Giants.

A victory

in any particular one means a Super Bowl trip, this 49ers' primary considering that 1994 season. But let us certainly not have well before things. Saturday's game at Candlestick Park shall be one which is usually dissected in addition to highlight-reeles for years to come. The game's ultimate minutes, through themselves, constituted an epic novel. After trailing just about all afternoon, that experienced as well as dogged Saints have scored having 4:02 leftover for taking a 24-23 lead. The 49ers have scored again by using 2:11 left to go back ahead. The Saints required just 34 seconds to get back the particular lead, 32-29.

And then, by using fourteen a few moments staying along with the 49ers seeking only one discipline intention in order to link as well as send the sport into overtime, some people instead went with regard to broke. Or additional specifically, these people went regarding Vernon Davis, the tight conclusion whom acquired undoubtedly made half a dozen critical attracts during important times throughout the afternoon.

On finally lower with the Saints' 14-yard-line, 49er quarterbacks' coach Geep Chryst evaluated your situation plus proposed a perform to Harbaugh that the 49ers had not function just about all season "Vernon Post." As his Harbaugh's bent, this individual rolled this dice and also resolved to go pertaining to it.

The engage in have been mounted last Wednesday at practice, only this particular online game this also predicament 10 in order to fifteen back yards away from the end zone, with the Saints in some protection they

would gonna be using at recession time.

"When we all got the item affordable there," Harbaugh said, "we knew precisely what it turned out proceeding being it really is both Vernon as well as nobody."

It wasn't nobody. The enjoy called for Davis, repleat up on the left side, in order to dig downfield over the middle in relation to not one but two meters full in to the finish zone, in that case turn his body about significantly just like a hockey participant to container out and about some sort of defender. This time, your defensive player appeared to be Saints' safe practices Roman Harper.

Davis implemented your X-and-0 perfectly. He dug towards objective line, boxed out, converted their rear end in the direction of the goalpost along with looked up to the ball. Smith, the quarterback who since being made to last primary in 2005 has been criticized for not being in a position to make the clutch brings with crisis time, threw the particular ball specifically to the identify wherever Davis appeared to be which is designed to be. Davis snatched this golf ball using Roman clawing during his shoulders.

"I for no reason observed your catch," stated Staley, who have clogged to the enjoy and also appeared to be for the turf. "But I heard the noises through that crowd."

Davis emerged decrease considering the winning tips in addition to next ran, weeping, when it comes to the sidelines. Nearby about the turf stood Brent Jones, who played tiny conclusion about the 49ers' past Super Bowl team around 1994. Saturday, this individual seen the final routine with as much amazement while virtually any fan.

"That has been a Steve-Young-to-T-O style play," Jones said.

He had been referencing among the list of most prominent plays in 49er history, your go away through quarterback Young that will receiver Terrell Owens for the last-minute touchdown in which exhausted the particular Packers inside a 1999 playoff game .

"I don't seriously learn him," Jones explained involving Davis. "But they had your online game associated with his / her living today."

He had not been alone. Davis' catch implemented the particular game's pattern, in which every massive perform with the 49ers has been produced by means of a person that possessed in no way already been inside some sort of playoff video game or perhaps in the event that involving sheltering tackle Justin Smith, had certainly not won a playoff game . This ended up being imagined to end up being your problem for these in comparison with the Saints, that claimed the Super Bowl two years ago and were being preferred in order to succeed Saturday.

Did that Saints miscalculate the particular 49ers? It could look so. New Orleans going back Darren Sproles was candid plenty of to say that that will he plus his teammates had been thinking that they experienced the game claimed right after their own past touchdown. The 49ers' weakness appeared to be a strong alleged deficit of quick-strike offense. Not any more.

"I imagine we obtained way too fired up since most people decided not to imagine they can credit score including that," Sproles said in the 49ers. "But they will did. They proved all of us wrong."

And they will find preserve showing it. Saturday was a reminder of how powerful as well as stunning playoff soccer can be. The 49ers ought to do the following extra often. Maybe some people will. If absolutely no one stops them, they might practice it often the following 30 days solely than any person imagined.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com or maybe 408-920-5092.