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Put the San Francisco 49ers in the SEC.
They would be perfect for it.
They play great defense, they run the ball and they have a quarterback who makes just enough plays when they need them.
| More on NFL Week 9 |
| Analysis |
Clark JudgeJim Harbaugh's biggest achievement with the 49ers is finding something in Alex Smith nobody else could. Week 9 Judgements >> 
Will BrinsonEli Manning really is good (top five?) and the Jets are back on track. The Week 9 insights don't stop there. Sorting the Sunday Pile >> |
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Oh, and they're pretty good.
The 49ers improved to 7-1 on Sunday by beating the Washington Redskins 19-11 in a game that wasn't that close. The 49ers won this one like they've won most of their games, with Frank Gore running for more than 100, Alex Smith managing the game at quarterback and a suffocating defense that is tops in the league in shutting down the run.
The style of play isn't always pretty -- much like the SEC game from Saturday night between LSU and Alabama -- but it is effective, and earns the 49ers another compliment here at the top of our CBSSports.com Grades.
The 49ers are playing for a seed now. The division title is locked up. They lead the division by five games with eight to go, and there's no way they can blow that lead with the three teams behind them as bad as they are. So the rest of the season will be about getting a high seed, maybe even as high as No. 2.
That would mean one home playoff victory would put them in the NFC Championship Game. That's getting a little ahead of the story, but there's no denying the toughness of this team.
They've come east for four games and won all four of them. Their physical style helps make winning on the road possible.
The 49ers have two games left with the Cardinals and Rams and one game left against the Seahawks, all teams from their horrible division. Their tough games are at home against the Giants next week, at Baltimore on Thanksgiving night and home against the Steelers in December.
The bottom line is the 49ers are staring at 12-4 -- bare minimum. They are playing for a high seed right now.
Their grind-it-out, defensive ways have coach Jim Harbaugh the leader in the race for NFL Coach of the Year.
Or is that SEC Coach of the Year?
| Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | NY Jets 27, Buffalo Bills 11 |
 | A | 2.41 | Jets: The Jets set the tone early with a methodical 17-play drive on their first series and didn't look back. A balanced offensive attack took advantage of several Buffalo miscues, while the defense forced three turnovers and limited Ryan Fitzpatrick's options down the field. -- Mark Ludwiczak, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.75 | Bills: The Bills were hoping to make a statement in this pivotal division matchup -- instead, they suffered the ultimate reality check. Buffalo's high-flying offense never get off the ground against a terrific Jets defense. New York did a tremendous job of bottling up RB Fred Jackson, who was held to under 100 yards rushing. -- Mark Ludwiczak, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Dallas Cowboys 23, Seattle Seahawks 13 |
 | B- | 2.36 | Cowboys: For any team with a losing record, getting to .500 is an accomplishment. But it wasn't pretty. The Cowboys squandered too many red-zone chances in the first half. The defense played well against the passing game, but still yielded more than 150 rushing yards. The Cowboys will take the win and a 4-4 record, but it was anything but a stellar performance. -- Nick Eatman, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 1.97 | Seahawks: The Seahawks' defense played solid in the red zone, preventing the Cowboys from scoring early. But costly turnovers, penalties and a blocked field goal hurt the Seahawks' chances of competing at the end. Tarvaris Jackson had his troubles, but a solid running game led by Marshawn Lynch's first 100-yard game of the season kept the chains moving. -- Nick Eatman, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Houston Texans 30, Cleveland Browns 12 |
 | A | 2.90 | Texans: The offense ran to daylight, amassing 263 yards on the ground as Arian Foster (124 yards) and Ben Tate (115) hit triple-digits and scored a touchdown. Hard-hitting defense kept foes under 200 yards for the third straight week -- holding the Browns to just 172 yards -- and sacked QB Colt McCoy four times. -- Brandon Williams, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D- | 1.87 | Browns: Whatever good vibes the defense gained in last week's game against the 49ers evaporated as the Texans mauled them for 263 yards on the ground. The offense had just one play over 20 yards, finishing with 172 total. The play of the O-line was putrid, managing just 2.1 yards per carry and getting Colt McCoy sacked four times. -- Brandon Williams, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Atlanta Falcons 31, Indianapolis Colts 7 |
 | B+ | 2.18 | Falcons: Atlanta pretty much controlled the game from the opening kickoff. The lone mistake on offense was an interception thrown by Matt Ryan that was returned for the Colts' lone touchdown. The Falcons' defense throttled Indy all afternoon. -- Tom James, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C | 1.52 | Colts: A listless performance on offense and an uneven defensive game told the story as the Colts dropped to 0-9 for the season. The loss, coupled with Miami's win at Kansas City, puts Indy in the driver's seat in the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. -- Tom James, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Miami Dolphins 31, Kansas City Chiefs 3 |
 | A | 1.56 | Dolphins: Excellent overall performance by the Dolphins. Miami's defense was the star of the game as it completely befuddled the Kansas City offense. Plus, the offense really stepped forward with a very good performance from QB Matt Moore and RB Reggie Bush. There wasn't one part of the game that the Dolphins did not dominate. -- Bob Gretz, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | F | 1.90 | Chiefs: After winning four straight, the Chiefs laid a huge egg. They were dominated at the line of scrimmage as the offense could not find the end zone and the defense could not stop the passing of Miami QB Matt Moore or the running and receiving of RB Reggie Bush. Mental mistakes and penalties killed any chance the Chiefs had of staying in this game after halftime. -- Bob Gretz, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | New Orleans Saints 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 |
 | B | 2.78 | Saints: The Saints got back to what wins them games: balanced offense and a bend-but-don't-break defense. The run game returned as the Saints are now 6-0 when they rush for 100 or more yards and Drew Brees was efficient in the passing game. The defense never really allowed the Bucs to gain any momentum as the Saints bounced back after last week's embarrassment. -- Larry Holder, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D+ | 2.16 | Buccaneers: Josh Freeman seems like he's regressing. He missed open receivers that would have ended up for huge gains and doesn't appear to be as comfortable as he was last season. The defense didn't do the Bucs any favors either as it was gashed by the Saints' potent running game and a solid passing game. -- Larry Holder, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | San Francisco 49ers 19, Washington Redskins 11 |
 | B | 2.84 | 49ers: The 49ers were efficient and dominant. But they can't walk away saying they were at their best. San Francisco hurt itself with nine penalties and had to settle for four field goals. Defensively they played more zone and shut down a bad offense. The coverage was excellent as the Redskins' young wideouts could not get free. -- John Keim, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.16 | Redskins: The Redskins were never really in this game. Coach Mike Shanahan inserted three rookies into the starting lineup, but they provided no spark. QB John Beck continues to be ineffective and not all of that can be blamed on the playcalling. Beck's status as a starter should be in question. Defensively, they failed to help the offense enough. -- John Keim, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Denver Broncos 38, Oakland Raiders 24 |
 | A | 2.10 | Broncos: The Broncos rushed for 298 yards and refused to die after the Raiders built a 17-7 halftime lead as they kept their hopes alive in the AFC West. Tim Tebow rebounded from his disaster against Detroit, rushing for 117 yards and passing for 124 and two TDs, and Willis McGahee gashed the Raiders for 163 yards and two touchdowns. -- Eric Gilmore, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 2.55 | Raiders: Raiders QB Carson Palmer made huge strides in his starting debut, throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns, but he was picked off three times, and Oakland's run defense got abused. The Raiders blew a chance to take sole possession of first place in the AFC West. -- Eric Gilmore, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Cincinnati Bengals 24, Tennessee Titans 17 |
 | A- | 2.83 | Bengals: Despite a poor first half defensively, the Bengals again showed maturity beyond their years with a dominant second half where they allowed only 56 yards in capturing their first five-game win streak since 1988. Andy Dalton's first three-touchdown pass game only added to his Rookie of the Year campaign. -- Paul Dehner, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 2.41 | Titans: Injuries to WR Lavelle Hawkins and FB Ahmard Hall caused the offense to stall in the second half. By the time both returned, the Titans had squandered their 10-point halftime lead. Tennessee wasted a timeout on offense in the fourth quarter that it desperately needed on a potential game-tying drive. -- Matt Rybaltowski, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Arizona Cardinals 19, St. Louis Rams 13 |
 | C+ | 1.45 | Cardinals: The Cards mustered only 262 yards of offense, they allowed two safeties and they nearly gave the game away when Patrick Peterson was whistled for pass interference late. But Calais Campbell got a huge FG block to force OT and Peterson made amends with a 99-yard punt return for a TD to win it. -- Craig Morgan, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.40 | Rams: QB Sam Bradford's return did little to spark an anemic offense that did little to bail out a defense that played great. Special teams let the Rams down, with a blocked FG at the end of regulation and a punt return for a TD to beat them. Coach Steve Spagnuolo's clock management definitely has to come into question. -- Ron Clements, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | NY Giants 24, New England Patriots 20 |
 | A- | 2.67 | Giants: The offense struggled in the first half and the Giants committed two critical fumbles on returns, but QB Eli Manning and TE Jake Ballard connected when it mattered most. P Steve Weatherford and the punt team deserve credit for keeping the Patriots off the board in the first half and RB Brandon Jacobs returned to form. -- Alex Raskin, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.20 | Patriots: The Patriots' offense had a severe lack of execution for the first three quarters, but the defense played well enough for the team to win. Tom Brady threw two costly interceptions and gave up a fumble. The defense couldn't hold on in the final drive, and the Patriots have lost back-to-back games for just the third time since 2002. -- Greg Bedard, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Green Bay Packers 45, San Diego Chargers 38 |
 | B | 3.16 | Packers: Grading this team is like grading a smart kid who doesn't work hard. With such a prolific offense, this team should never have to bite its collective fingernails like it did at San Diego. But, as it has been on many occasions, the defense was pummeled for 460 yards (though it got three turnovers). -- James Carlton, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | B- | 2.08 | Chargers: Philip Rivers threw three INTs and two were returned for TDs. But he did manage to lead the Chargers to 38 points and for the first time all season the offense truly sparked. San Diego also needs to find someone who can play solid at right CB. CB Marcus Gilchrist's poor play lead to four Packers' touchdowns. -- Dan McLellan, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Baltimore Ravens 23, Pittsburgh Steelers 20 |
 | A | 3.23 | Ravens: Let's see, allow the home team to climb from a 10-point hole. Prevent them from kicking a field goal or maintaining possession to seal the outcome. Then drive 92 yards in the final 2-plus minutes against the NFL's No. 2 defense. That's making a statement. -- Chuck Finder, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C | 2.67 | Steelers: They climbed from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over to the defense with 92 yards behind it. Pass defense continues to be problematic, especially if the rush doesn't dominate. And failing to try that late field-goal could haunt their home-field dreams. -- Chuck Finder, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Chicago Bears 30, Philadelphia Eagles 24 |
 | A- | 2.67 | Bears: There were questions whether this team had the heart and ability to battle on the road against good teams. The Bears answered that with one of their more complete games of the year. The offense offset Matt Forte's two lost fumbles with point production. The defense stood up well to the speed of Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy most of the game. Special teams contributed with a key recovery of a fumbled punt. -- Gene Chamberlain, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.05 | Eagles: The Eagles had every chance to win this game. But their defense couldn't stop the Bears when it counted and their offense couldn't score when it counted, in the fourth quarter. RB LeSean McCoy had a terrific game, but he didn't get enough help. And the Eagles' vaunted pass rush, which came into the game fourth in the NFL in sacks per pass play, never got consistent pressure on Jay Cutler. -- Kevin Noonan, RapidReports Correspondent |
| GPA Key (updated through season) | ||
| A = 4.0 | A- = 3.7 | B+ = 3.3 |
| B = 3.0 | B- = 2.7 | C+ = 2.3 |
| C = 2.0 | C- = 1.7 | D+ = 1.3 |
| D = 1.0 | D- = 0.7 | |
