Alex Smith had his best game of the season for the San Francisco 49ers (5-6), leading them to the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5) on Sunday.  Smith went his first game without throwing an interception and finished the day with 2 touchdowns and 232 yards on 27/41 passes.  Smith was smart with the ball and didn’t try and force the issue too much, something he needs to continue to do.  Smith didn’t get much help from Frank Gore and the running game, with Gore only getting 33 yards on 16 carries and the team finishing with 52 total rushing yards.  They played turnover free football though and they got great support from their defense.

The 49ers’ defense kept the Jaguars out of the endzone and did a great job forcing some turnovers.  Jags’ quarterback David Garrard was being pretty careful with his passes and the Niners were not able to get any picks, but they laid some big hits on him and recovered 2 of his fumbles.  They also kept the very talented Maurice Jones Drew out of the endzone and under 100 yards rushing.  This was a great game by the 49ers defense, and if they can get more turnover free games from their offense they could have a lot more success.

The San Francisco 49ers (4-6) have been in a lot of close games in the past few weeks and have been coming out of them on the losing end more often than not.  They will be looking to end that trend as they host the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4) Sunday.  Alex Smith needs to stop throwing interceptions, and if he can do that the 49ers will probably win.  The only problem is that Smith has thrown a pick in every game he has started this season, so it’s safe to say he will probably turn the ball over in this contest too.  Frank Gore will need to have one of his big games to negate Smith’s poor play, but it may not be enough as the Jaguars have been sticking to a successful conservative, turnover free game-plan of ball control.

The 49ers’ defense has not been very good against the pass, giving up 256 passing yards per game.  Jaguars’ quarterback David Garrard doesn’t put up a ton of yards, but he has been taking care of the ball and has been very accurate lately.  He also has Maurice Jones-Drew to rely on, who has been averaging 4.8 yards per carry this season.  Jones-Drew has a knee injury though, and it may very well limit what he can do.  Reports say he should be okay though, so I am going to pick the Jaguars in a close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICITON:  San Francisco 49ers 21, Jacksonville Jaguars 24

 The San Francisco 49ers (4-6) let the Green Bay Packers (6-4) jump out to a big lead in the first half and they were not able to recover.  The 49ers defense could not keep Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers in check.  Rodgers had a huge 2nd quarter, throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 15-21 attempts.  That big quarter for the Packers helped them take a 23-3 lead at halftime.  The defense did a bad job stopping the run too, with Packers’ running back Ryan Grant getting a touchdown and 129 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Alex Smith played poorly until about the middle of the second half.  He helped the 49ers make a very strong comeback effort, but they fell short.  Smith had 3 touchdowns, all in the second half, and finished with 227 yards on 16/33 passes.  Vernon Davis had a huge day for the niners, catching 6 passes for 108 yards and a score.  Frank Gore had a very productive 7 carries, getting 59 yards.  The 49ers were down most of the game so they were throwing the ball more, so that is why Gore didn’t get more carries.  He had one run for 42 yards, so I think the 49ers should have given him the ball more because of his big run abilities.  The 49ers can’t get themselves into such big holes, but the effort they showed in the second half was impressive.

Patrick Willis is quite simply the best inside linebacker in the NFL right now, case closed!  The 24-year old Willis is a heat seeking missile for the Niners.  He has played in all 10 games for the 49ers this season and he has 96 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  In three years with the Niners, Willis has played in 42 games in which he has made 411 tackles, defensed 21 passes, has 7.5 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and he has 3 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  Willis just blows up running backs at the point of attack and the 49ers love to have him in the middle of the D.

The San Francisco 49ers (4-5) are clinging to life in the NFC playoff picture and will need a great effort on the road against the Green Bay Packers (5-4) Sunday.  Both teams are coming very strong defensive performances, but the 49ers were basically handed the game last week against the Bears where Jay Cutler threw 5 interceptions.  The Packers nearly shut out a very good offensive team in the Dallas Cowboys, so the 49ers offense better have a good game-plan ready against an aggressive Packers defense.  I don’t see Alex Smith having that a strong of a game in this one, as he has struggled the past three weeks and the Packers pass defense is ranked 6th in the league.  What Smith needs to do is not turn the ball over and let the running game attack.  If Smith can provide enough production without turning the ball over, it will open things up for Frank Gore and the 49ers will have a chance at winning.

Don’t expect another defensive game like last week, as the Bears offense played horrible.  The Packers are led by Aaron Rodgers who has proven he is one the top quarterbacks in the game.  Rodgers has already thrown for over 2,400 yards this season and has 17 touchdowns compared to only 5 interceptions.  Rodgers gets very little protection though, so the 49ers will be able to get some sacks on him.  If that can lead to some turnovers for the 49ers, they will have a great opportunity to win the game.  The 49ers need to be ready for Packers’ running back Ryan Grant too.  Grant hasn’t been great this year, but he is a strong and effective runner who is averaging 4.2 yards per carry.  The 49ers will have a chance but I think Rodgers is too good, and the 49ers don’t get enough out of Smith at quarterback, so I’m taking the Packers in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Green Bay Packers 31, San Francisco 49ers 21

The San Francisco 49ers (4-5) did enough to take down the Chicago Bears (4-5) Thursday night in a very ugly game.  The 49ers defense did a very good job shutting down the Bears’ offense.  Luckily for them, the Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler was forcing the ball the entire game.  The 49ers were able to intercept Cutler 5 times.  Two of those picks came in the red zone, including a possible game winning throw that went right to Michael Lewis for the interceptions.  Tarell Brown, Mark Roman, Aubrayo Franklin, and Dashon Goldson had the other four interceptions.  The 49ers defense also did a great job shutting down the Bears’ running game.  Bears’ running back Matt Forte only had 41 rushing yards on 20 carries.  Forte was the Bears’ best offensive player in this one though and the 49ers could not stop him in the passing game as he finished with 8 catches for 120 yards.

The 49ers offense did not look great in this one, specifically the passing game.  Alex Smith did a better job managing the game and he did get the win, but he ended up with one interception and no touchdowns while throwing for only 118 yards on 16/23 passes.  Frank Gore was the leader for the 49ers’ offense.  He had a touchdown and 104 yards rushing on 25 carries.  Michael Crabtree experienced his first NFL victory, catching 4 passes for 48 yards.  Head coach Mike Singletary and his 49ers defense won this one against his former team and will be taking on the Green Bay Packers on the road next week.

The San Francisco 49ers (3-5) are hosting the Chicago Bears (4-4) tomorrow night and the game will be shown on the NFL Network.  The 49ers have been playing well after starting 3-1 this season, losing their last four.  The Bears have been playing below expectations as well, losing their last three out of four games.  The 49ers will need a much better game from quarterback Alex Smith, who had three interceptions and two fumbles last game.  Smith needs to do a much better job of taking care of the ball.  Mike Singletary is facing his former team, where he was a hall of fame linebacker for the Bears.  Singletary may need to limit Smith, tell him not to gamble, and just manage the game.  If they do go the conservative route with Smith, then they will need another big game from Frank Gore.  Smith can hit Gore with a lot of short passes like he did last week, and let Gore make some plays with his legs.

The 49ers may need Smith to do a little bit more than that though, as Jay Cutler has the ability to put up some points for the Bears’ offense.  He hasn’t been doing enough lately, but the pressure is starting to build for the talented quarterback who forced his way out of Denver in the offseason and just signed an extension with the Bears.  The 49ers pass-defense is pretty weak though, so I think Cutler will be able to do some damage against a 49ers defense who gives up 241 passing yards per game.  Cutler has been sacked 19 already this season, so if the 49ers can get to Cutler often they can limit what he can do.  This should be a close game between two under-performing teams, but I think the 49ers pass defense is too weak and the Bears will win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, San Francisco 49ers 24

The San Francisco 49ers will be without rookie running back Glen Coffee for this week’s game with the Bears.  He has played in all 8 games for the 49ers this season and he has carried the ball 75 times for 198 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 10 passes for 69 yards (6.9 avg).  Michael Robinson will replace Coffee as the #2 RB this week for the Niners.  He has played in 8 games this season for the Niners and he has carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard.  He has also caught 4 passes for 16 yards (4.0 avg) this season.  The Niners might be looking for someone else to return kicks this week with Robinson needed more than usual on offense.  Robinson has returned 17 kickoffs for 402 yards (23.6 avg) so far this season for the Niners. 

The San Francisco 49ers (3-5) have now lost four straight after losing to the Tennessee Titans (2-6) on Sunday. Quarterback Alex Smith played awful for the 49ers, throwing three interceptions and fumbling twice.  He did throw two touchdowns and finished the game with 286 yards on 29/45 attempts, but he obviously did a terrible job of taking care of the ball.  Two of his interceptions came down the stretch, with the final one coming with under three minutes to play.  That one was picked off by the Titans Cortland Finnegan, who returned it 39-yards for a game-sealing touchdown.  Smith got a pretty much meaningless touchdown with only 39 seconds to play and the 49ers became only the second team to fall to the Titans this season.

The 49ers defense did not do a good job stopping the Titans running game.  They got all three of their offensive touchdowns on the ground, with Vince Young getting a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and Chris Johnson adding two more.  Johnson ran all over the 49ers in this one, getting 135 yards and the two touchdowns on 25 carries.  The Titans also did what the 49ers couldn’t do, which was to take care of the ball.  Frank Gore was did well on the ground, getting 83 yards on 15 carries, and tight end Vernon Davis had a big day getting 102 yards on 10 catches.  It wasn’t enough though, as Smith’s turnovers were too much for the 49ers to overcome.  Some are calling for Shaun Hill to be the starter again.  Hill was able to lead the 49ers to a 3-1 start but played awful after that, until Smith replaced him at half against Houston in week 7.

The San Francisco 49ers (3-4) have lost three in a row but will have a good opportunity at breaking that streak this weekend at home against the Tennessee Titans (1-6).  The Titans are coming off their first win of the season and are a different team when Vince Young is under center.  Young, made his first start of the season last week and he and Chris Johnson led the Titans to their first win.  The 49ers need to be ready for the Titans running game, as Johnson is coming off a 228 yard performance and Young has the athleticism to use his legs and not just his arm.  Alex Smith is doing a decent job at quarterback for the 49ers though, and Titans give up 282 passing yards per game so Smith could have a big game.  He has thrown two picks in the two games he has played in, so he needs to do a better job of not turning the ball over.

The 49ers should try and wear down the Titans with the run.  They give up 112 rushing yards per game and Frank Gore is due for a big game.  He had a solid effort against the Colts last week, getting 91 yards on 13 carries including a 64 yard touchdown run.  This should be a very close match-up and the Titans seem like a different team now that they got their first win and have a new quarterback.  I think they will continue their momentum from last week, with Young and Johnson’s legs leading the way in a close win for the Titans.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 28, San Francisco 49ers 24