SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Eleven games in and the San Francisco 49ers have yet to put together a complete game, one in which the offense, defense and special teams all show up on the same day.
There was a significant development Sunday, though, in the Niners’ 17-13 victory over Washington. One that gives the team faith for the last five games of the season and, the Niners hope, into the playoffs.
That is, the first-team offense finally, mercifully scored a fourth-quarter touchdown. And the first such score of the year proved to be the difference when rookie running back Carlos Hyde rumbled into the end zone from 4 yards out with 2:59 to play. And yes, it's understood that technically Hyde is a second-stringer, but the point remains (No. 2 QB Blaine Gabbert led the backups to a TD late in the blowout loss at Denver).
“Now is a good time to have it,” 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said. “So, we’re going to need more of those moving forward.”
Things looked bleak for the 49ers earlier in the quarter, considering their final-quarter offensive travails, after Kai Forbath's 46-yard field goal gave Washington a 13-10 lead.
And when the Niners faced fourth-and-1 at their own 34-yard line with just over five minutes to play, the game was on the line. Enter Frank Gore, who gained 3 yards to extend the drive.
Then came the key catch and run of the game.
Kaepernick found Anquan Boldin down the right seam for a 23-yard pickup, the ball arriving just before Washington safety Ryan Clark, who launched his head into Boldin’s helmet. But while Clark fell to the grass, where yellow flags littered the field, Boldin bounced off and ran for another 6 yards.
“I knew I was going to get hit ... I saw the safety cheating to that side before the play even started,” Boldin said. “So Kaep made a real nice throw, which allowed me to catch the ball and protect myself as much as possible at that point.”
Clark was called for unnecessary roughness, a 15-yard penalty, so by the time the Niners lined up for their next play, they were at Washington’s 19-yard line -- two plays after facing fourth-and-1.
“Valiant effort,” Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Anquan Boldin with that catch in traffic. Great throw by Colin. Our guys did what they needed to do when they needed to do it. Good teams win those kind of games. Proud of our guys.
“By any means necessary. That’s how we’re looking for wins.”
It took the Niners only three more plays to find the end zone -- a Hyde run up the gut for 5 yards, a Kaepernick pass to Boldin on the left that picked up 10 yards and Hyde’s game-winning charge.
It was particularly satisfying for Hyde in that he lost a fumble on the first play of the second quarter.
“I fumbled and they put the ball back in my hands,” Hyde said.
“It took me a minute to get over that play.”
But he did. And the Niners' offense got over its fourth-quarter case of the yips as it extended the team’s winning streak to three games.
Was it for just one game, though, or is it the springboard this team needs to really get going?
“That’s big-time stuff,” Harbaugh said. “Good team doing what it has to do to win the football game.
“They play their hearts out. Valiant effort, individual effort and team effort. What more could you want if you’re a coach?”
Maybe more fourth-quarter touchdowns by the offense to ease the anxiety.