Niners turn the lights out on Steelers, win biggest game of the century

Monday night was a big test for this 49ers team. With the entire world watching, visiting Pittsburgh seething at the chance to clinch the AFC #1 overall seed, these two proud franchises did battle. It was the first time in NFL history that two teams faced off with a combined 11 superbowl rings between them. It was an opportunity for San Francisco to prove, in front of the entire world, that they belong, that they are as good as their record and a win would improve their chances of obtaining the #2 overall seed in the NFC. 

Ben Rothlisberger, as everyone on the planet knew, was injured. He was a game time decision and just before kick off was cleared to start at QB. At this stage in the season every team is banged up and has players hurt, injured and or playing through pain. That's a fact of life in the NFL. On the opening possession, Big Ben limped his team down the field, completing passes with efficiency and it looked as though Pittsburgh would get in the end zone and take a 7-0 lead early in the game, but that's when Big Ben threw his first of 3 interceptions in this big game. The 49ers defense set the tone of the game in that moment and continued to pound away at the Pittsburgh offense, getting to Big Ben at will and making it nearly impossible for him to make plays. The defense has been incredible all season, but it was even more important last night, against a very good Steelers team and they handled this team with ease. Aldon Smith, who is likely set to be the defensive rookie of the year, man handled offensive lineman Max Starks, an 8 year veteran who had absolutely no chance at stopping the bull rush of Aldon Smith.

It's easy to focus a lot of energy on the defense because they dominated the game from the word go, but that wouldn't be fair to this offense. Alex Smith and the offensive line have taken a lot of heat in the past 4 weeks and for good reason. They allowed 18 sacks in the past 3 games and made Alex Smith's job almost impossible. Facing the second best defense in football was not an easy task, but the offensive line met the challenge and far exceeded expectations. They didn't allow a sack, they gave Alex Smith time to get the ball to his receivers and they created holes for the running backs all night. Alex Smith missed a lot of targets and left at least three TD's on the field and the team settled for field goals far too often again, but he manufactured touchdown drives in crucial moments of the game, made some amazing throws and deserves a lot of credit for doing more than managing the game and not turning the ball over. He faced the biggest challenge of the season, looked the Pittsburgh defense in the face and absolutely picked them apart.

ESPN "experts" were quick to point out that Big Ben was hurt, James Harrison didn't play and San Francisco didn't get the best Pittsburgh team last night. They failed to mention that San Francisco is playing without the captain of their defense, all pro signal caller Patrick Willis. The refused to acknowledge that Frank Gore is playing hurt and refused to make excuses, making damn sure he did everything within his power to give his team 150%, as he always does. They didn't want to accept the the offensive line of San Francisco has been banged up in recent weeks and didn't use that as an excuse and played better than they have all season and punt returner Ted Ginn Jr. left the game with an ankle injury early in the 2nd quarter. A quick note about injuries. If you are injured or hurt as a player, you have a choice. Play hurt or don't play at all. If you decide to play and things don't go your way or your performance was not up to par, you can't turn around after the game and claim that the injury prevented players from performing. It's actually pretty simple. If you play and you are hurt, good for you, but don't make excuses for your performance because things didn't go your way. Yes, Big Ben should not have played in that game but he did and he got killed. I didn't hear Frank Gore complaining after the game that he didn't perform better because he's been playing with a twisted ankle and bummed knee all season. The better team won the game and the excuses are falling on deaf ears this morning. San Francisco is playing at a very high level and will need to maintain that swagger as the head to Seattle this Saturday to play in a very loud and tough environment.