So much for the dream team in Philly. The San Francisco 49ers had one of their toughest victories in quite a while with a stirring 2nd half comeback vs the Philadelphia Eagles, IN Philly. After a desultory 1st half where Smith threw for 66 yards, and gave up a fumble which resulted in 7 for Philly, the Niners were by all accounts lucky to only be down 20-3 due to an early Vick pick, and a very retarded play by Ronnie Brown when he tried to lateral the ball while getting tackled on the 2 yard line. 

Alex Smith came back in the 2nd half to play about the best football of his star-crossed career. He was 13-17 for 225 yards in the 2nd half, threw for 2 touchdowns (no picks), and ended up with a 112.5 QBR when all was said and done. The Niners outscored a suddenly pourous Philly defense 23-3 in the 2nd half, threw for 291 yards, and rushed for 164. For all the shit the O line has taken, they run-blocked very well, and pass protected well. Although Anthony Davis had quite the adventure trying to block Shooty Babbit, uh, Justin Bieber, errrrr, Jason Babin to the tune of 3 sacks.

It wasn’t the cleanest game played, with 4 missed FGs and costly fumbles on both sides, but for the 49ers to come back on the road against a legit team says worlds for how good a job Harbaugh has done with this team this young season. They sorted out the run blocking, and gave time for Smith to hit some deep passes in the 2nd half. An aspect of this team that hasn’t been apparent. They also hit on a slant (a SLANT!) for the TD to Morgan.

A game to build on. Most defintely. TB at home isn’t easy, and Deetroit on the road isn’t a cakewalk either, but they certainly can be taken care of if they keep playing this type of offensive game. Strong running and a passing attack that takes advantage of matchup issues when they are there. Still would like to see a little more of VD deeep, but there’s little to complain about when Smith hits 8 different guys for 291 in the air. Winning these close games is light-years above all those mioral victories of the last two regimes. The Niners were losing these types of games for the past 4 years.