It's Never Easy in Arizona

Yesterday was "Turn Back the Clock" day. To 2010.

It's never easy in Arizona for the 49ers. Yesterday's 21-19 loss to the Cardinals was a culmination of missed opportunities by the offense, too many big plays given up by the defense and one momentum-killing screwup by the officiating crew that resulted in a 14-point swing on the scoreboard.

Heading into next Monday's showdown with the Steelers, the 49ers now find themselves in a dogfight with the Saints for the NFC's #2 seed. At stake is a bye week during the first round of the playoffs and home field advantage during the divisional round, which the 49ers will desperately need to have a decent chance at defeating New Orleans in the postseason before traveling to Green Bay.

So, Wha' Happened on Sunday? Three things, and then some perspective:

1. The offense stunk in the red zone. We've known this most of the season (which is why David Akers is on pace to obliterate the single-season mark for most field goals). The 49ers haven't found a single go-to playmaker when they get inside the 10 yard line as previous red zone performers like Vernon Davis and Braylon Edwards (prior to joining the 49ers) have failed to produce when it matters most. And the running game has been virtually nonexistent in these types of situations (running Frank Gore on 2nd-and-goal = 100% failure).

If the 49ers are going to be successful in the postseason, they'll have to find a way to punch the ball into the end zone. There is no way the defense can contain the Saints' and Packers' high-octane offenses enough to settle for field goals. If things don't improve, I can easily see the Niners in a 14-6 hole after two possessions against the Saints in their first playoff game since the '02 season.

2. The defense missed their best player. I don't know how long Patrick Willis is going to be sidelined with his hamstring injury, but it's not a coincidence that the 49ers surrendered the most big plays in a game since the OT loss to the Cowboys while their best player was in street clothes. For a team that relies on field position, special teams and defensive dominance to win, Willis is clearly the MVP.

Hopefully, Willis will return to the lineup soon to patrol the middle of the field while wreaking havoc on opposing ballcarriers. Without his presence, the defensive unit just looks a little lost.

3. The officiating crew really, really, REALLY hosed the 49ers when they bungled replay challenge prior to the 49ers' third field goal attempt. 

We all know the story, so I won't bore you with the details. But somebody needs to explain why coaches and officials are allowed to wait until the last possible millisecond to throw their red flags and stop gameplay. If you can't figure out if you should challenge the preceding play before the offense gets into their set positions, you probably need to find another line of work.

In this instance, the officials waited until AFTER the ball was snapped to blow the play dead. Unfortunately, by that point, the 49ers had already unveiled their surprise fake field goal attempt (which would have likely resulted in a highlight-reel touchdown for Jonathan Goodwin). When the crew reviewed Ken Whisenhut's hairbrained challenge of Kyle Williams' third-down catch (which couldn't be reviewed because of a glitch in the replay system - go figure), the air had already been taken out of the Niners' sails.

You knew what was coming next. Akers misses the 50-yard attempt and the Cardinals, with decent field position for the first time all afternoon, were in the end zone less than a minute later. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we like to call The 14-Point Swing, courtesy of the officials' incompetence. How Jim Harbaugh managed to stay on the sidelines without putting a choke hold on anybody from Al Riveron's crew demonstrates that the guy has a great deal of self-control during the heat of battle.

So what does it all mean? The Twitterverse declared the 49ers season over following the game, and this morning's newspaper columns are littered with observations about the team's lack of improvement and diminished efficiency on offense.

Look, here's the deal - the Niners weren't very good yesterday and they lost by 2 points on the road against a surging divisional opponent (the Cardinals' only loss during their last six games was in San Francisco). It's difficult to win on the road. Just ask New Orleans and Baltimore, who were boat-raced in St. Louis and Seattle earlier this year. Hell, the Saints barely escaped Tennessee with a win yesterday during a game that went down to the final minute. Shit happens - that's why no team has run the tables since the insufferable Dolphins in 1972. RELAX, people.

Yes, the offense has to figure out a way to score touchdowns instead of field goals, or this will be a very short playoff run in January. That will undoubtedly be Harbaugh's top priority heading into the final stretch. But Willis will be back and the fake field goal fiasco was an anomaly. The Niners still have complete control of their playoff positioning as the #2 seed.

Jim Harbaugh and his squad will determine if yesterday's game will either be remembered as the day the 2011 season fell apart or forgotten as an insignificant bump in the road during the 49ers' return to the league's upper echelon. Next Monday, they can take a giant step towards the latter by crushing the Steelers at home in front of a national audience.

My money's on Harbaugh. I've learned my lesson.