The 49ers’ signature win of the regular season was probably their Week 15 win at New England. They jumped out to a 31-3 lead after three quarters and held on for a 41-34 victory in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football. The game put the rest of the league on notice that the 49ers and new quarterback Colin Kaepernick were for real.
The 49ers’ offense was nearly flawless that night, with Kaepernick throwing for 221 yards and four touchdowns and the running game gashing the Patriots for 180 yards on the ground. And it’s not like the Patriots were slouches this year – though they finished 25th in yards allowed, they were ninth in the NFL in scoring defense (20.7 points allowed per game).
How did the 49ers play so well on the road against one of the NFL’s top teams? Quarterback coach Geep Chryst said Wednesday at the Super Bowl that, believe it or not, the Dolphins deserve some of the credit.
The 49ers had just hosted the Dolphins the week before, and though the final score was 27-13, the game was much closer than that. The Dolphins trailed by just a touchdown with 4 minutes left and had the ball on San Francisco’s 35-yard line before their drive stalled. Kaepernick then sealed the win with a back-breaking 50-yard touchdown run a minute later.
“I’m telling you, that game really helped us getting ready for New England,” Chryst said. “We actually thought the Miami defense had some qualities that were even stiffer than the Patriots’. That was a good game, just the way the schedule works, to help us work on things.”
Chryst said that coach Jim Harbaugh’s message to the players the week leading up to the Patriots game was that they would need to match their intensity level from the previous game.
“You say, ‘Wow, we just had to play a game where we had to fight and scratch and claw, and so we need that same mindset on the road,’” Chryst said. “We had to earn what we had to earn against Miami, and that was the theme.”
Chryst came away from that game impressed with the Dolphins’ tenacity on defense. Like the Patriots, the Dolphins gave up a lot of yards this year (21st in total defense) but were stingy on the scoreboard, finishing seventh in points allowed (19.8 per game).
“First off, just sound football players and a real sound scheme,” Chryst said. “They might not be household names, but I thought they played real well together and they were aggressive and downhill. And in Joe (Philbin’s) first year, this was something to build on.”
Chryst said the 49ers weren’t disappointed in their performance against a supposed lowly Dolphins team. Just the opposite, in fact.
“People who were there remember that it was a close game,” he said. “It wasn’t one of those deals that you see in college football where you have to win by 40 to be happy. We were thrilled with the victory.”
