The tortoise beats the hare
This was supposed to be a matchup of an elite offence versus an elite offence, and in many ways it was. The big surprise in San Francisco was that the Niners offence was able to capitalize on the opportunities resulting from the defence.
The end result in many ways reflects the fable The Tortoise and the Hare. The Saints are a fast-paced offence that can light up the scoreboard and the record books, but it comes with some risk in the form of turnovers. The 49ers, on the other hand, are a conservative offence that milks the clock and usually scores just enough to pick up the win.
Even with Drew Brees' astounding 462 passing yards with four touchdowns, the Niners came away as winners. The 49ers defence came up with five forced turnovers and three sacks. However, the Niners would have still come away on the short-end if the offence only settled for field goals.
The 49ers offence is best known for the running game behind Frank Gore. While the veteran running back chipped in with a healthy 6.8 yards per carry for a total of 89 rushing yards, the team's MVPs this weekend were undoubtedly Vernon Davis and Alex Smith.
In a season that featured two tight ends surpassing the all-time record for receiving yards at the position, Davis was surprisingly quiet. His yardage and touchdowns declined for a third straight season, as the Niners offence became significantly more conservative. However, when needed to come up with big plays on the biggest stage of his career, Davis answered the call.
In total, Davis hauled in seven receptions for 180 yards with two touchdowns. There was no better feeling for a football fan than watching Davis' passion unfold with tears streaming down his face as he embraced his head coach in a shocking and thrilling win.
Similar to Davis, Smith was often labeled an NFL bust, as the former first round pick endured an uneven first five years in the NFL. However this season, Smith had a coach that knew how to best utilize the former first overall pick.
Smith was used as a field manager who made the occasional big play. The key was not making mistakes in order to let the defence have a shot at winning games. This weekend Smith did exactly that plus a little more.
Aside from a fumble, Smith made the most of every possession. He also answered every touchdown from Brees and the Saints including a drive that started with just a minute and a half to go and ended in the end zone with nine seconds remaining.
The Niners made the playoffs because of a dominant defence and an offence that simply didn't mess up. They now reach the conference championship because of that dominant defence, but also an offence that rose to the occasion to score 36 points against a Saints squad many picked to play in the Super Bowl.
