While the offense struggled to put points on the board, the defense was the problem behind the 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. Here are some notes from the game:
-Justin Smith had one of his worst games and provided no help for the front-seven with his pass rushing. He will have to undergo surgery on his partially torn triceps and it will take two to three months to rehab the injury. Smith had only two quarterback hurries throughout the game and his side of the field was vulnerable against the run.
-The most productive member on the defensive line was Ray McDonald with four hurries and a sack to show for it. He also was one of the many players who helped against the run.
-Michael Crabtree had only five receptions but made the most of them with several yards after catch. Out of his 109 receiving yards, 54 of them were yards after the catch.
-Donte Whitner ended up allowing five receptions and was responsible for two of the Joe Flacco's three touchdown passes as he was beaten by Dennis Pitta and Anquan Boldin.
-Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman had a solid game combining for 15 tackles which included two tackles for loss by Bowman. The interior linebackers were great against the run, preventing Bernard Pierce and Ray Rice from doing anything up the gut.
-Tarell Brown had a great game when he only allowed three receptions for 29 yards. Flacco ended up only throwing to his side of the field five times.
-Frank Gore had a great game statistically by averaging 5.8 yards per carry, but he was mostly effective when running off-tackle or to the outside. The Ravens stuffed Gore up the gut as he only ran 21 through the middle. Jonathan Goodwin struggled in the run blocking to contribute to this.
-Joe Staley had a perfect game in pass protection. The only time pressure ended up coming was through the interior on a blitz or the right side of the offensive line. Staley had no trouble single-blocking anyone on the Ravens.
-A.J. Jenkins was on the field for only a few plays, but was covered or not thrown to.
-Chris Culliver allowed only four catches, but allowed the 56-yard touchdown reception by Jacoby Jones. He was caught holding in the game but was only called for it once.
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