Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Niners bookend 2015 Season with a Win

Entering Sunday's 2015 regular season finale, a few things were on the line for the San Francisco 49ers and their long-time rivals the St. Louis Rams. A win for the 49ers would mean they would avoid their worst finish since 2005 when the franchise finished with a record of 4-12. As for the Rams who could be playing football in southern California as early as next season while relocating from St. Louis to Los Angeles, a win would make it four straight victories in what's been a disappointing year for Jeff Fisher and company.

After being blown out, 27-6 in the first meeting between bitter foes, the 49ers kept it close and took a 7-3 lead after QB Blaine Gabbert connected with Anquan Boldin who broke free of a tackle and trotted into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter. Getting his second start in as many weeks at running back for the Niners was DuJuan Harris who had himself an all around nice game. Harris broke off a big gain in the second quarter that went for 48-yards and set up the first of Phil Dawson's four field goals on the afternoon. Leading 10-3, the Rams would quickly respond with scores on each of their next three drives. A pair of Greg Zuerlein field goals and a Tre Mason touchdown run from 4-yards out would put St. Louis ahead. Gabbert had a pass batted in the air and intercepted for a 42-yard return which set up the Rams' lone touchdown just two plays later. Trailing 16-10 at halftime, the 49ers would keep the Rams scoreless in the second half. 
After inching closer with a field goal in the third, San Francisco tied it up with another in the fourth as the game was sent to overtime with both teams knotted up at 16. With San Francisco failing to score on the opening possession during overtime, St. Louis appeared to be on their way to a fourth consecutive victory as Zuerlein stepped up with a chance to win it with a 48-yard field goal. But after missing wide right from 52-yards earlier in the game, the day would go from bad to worse for Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein who had the potential game-winner blocked by second-year corner Dontae Johnson. The block would keep the Niners alive and give them one final chance to finish the season on top. With under five minutes to go, Gabbert completed a pass to receiver Quinton Patton who broke a tackle and nearly took it to the house before being stopped short of the end zone. The 33-yard reception would be all Phil Dawson needed in what could be his final game as a Niner, as he split the uprights one for the game-winning 23-yard field goal which led to hugs and high-fives all around. Gabbert threw for a career-high 354 yards and a touchdown, with 86 of those yards going to DuJuan Harris who led all receivers. The free-agent-to-be and journeyman who was signed to five different teams this season, rushed for a game-high 67 yards on 16 carries.

Unfortunately, one Niner would walk off the field a winner but would leave the stadium jobless. Despite the 19-16 overtime win, Niners head coach Jim Tomsula was relieved of his head coaching duties just hours after the game. In his only season at the helm, San Francisco finished 5-11 under the rookie head coach who spent a total of nine seasons with the organization, serving as the team's defensive-line coach. With the 49ers head coaching vacancy now the main focus of the offseason, who they nab next is anyone's guess at this point. But that hasn't stopped some of the early candidates from surfacing with such names as Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Hue Jackson and Adam Gase leading the pack, as well as the recently fired Chip Kelly who on Sunday was bounced from Philly after three seasons. As for some positive news, linebacker NaVorro Bowman added another nine tackles on Sunday to add to his league-leading 154 tackles and was named to the Pro Bowl. It might not be the last we hear of Bowman's name this year, however, as he's a prime candidate to win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award after missing the entire 2014 season following his major knee injury suffered in the NFC title game two seasons ago.
2016 Preview - With the 2015 regular season in the books, the regular season opponents for 2016 have been announced as the 49ers will host the following: Saints, Buccaneers, Patriots, Jets, Cowboys, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks. Meanwhile, they'll hit the road to face the following: Falcons, Panthers, Bills, Bears, Dolphins, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks. As for April's Draft, the 49ers sit in the top 10, owning the no. 7 pick.


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