ESPN Search

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 6: All about third down. The San Francisco 49ers' offense took considerable criticism after converting just once on 13 third-down plays against the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers' defen...

Arizona Cardinals: Life without the injured Ryan Williams at running back begins Sunday against a Buffalo defense that allowed 621 yards to San Francisco, including 311 on the ground. Utility back LaRod Stephens-Howling expects to return from a hip i...

The Seattle Seahawks had multiple chances to make the winning touchdown catch against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. Failing to make catches isn't the same as dropping passes, however. Seattle was one of six NFL teams, and the only one from the ...

The Arizona Cardinals' Beanie Wells was a surprise addition to the team's injury report Friday. The Cardinals listed the running back as questionable, citing a hamstring injury. Wells was listed as questionable with hamstring injuries twice since ...

Steven Jackson, Justin Smith, Larry Fitzgerald and CenturyLink Field came to mind when discussing NFC West "bests" with Dave Benz on 680 KNBR in San Francisco on Monday. They've made available the audio. I didn't have a firm answer when asked t...

As you might have heard, the San Francisco 49ers ran into some troubles at the wide receiver position last season. Those troubles affected their offense and special teams, notably during an overtime defeat to the New York Giants in the NFC Champio...

Every team in the NFC West had a 1,000-yard rusher last season. Coaches in Seattle, San Francisco and St. Louis have promoted run-first philosophies. Arizona has invested first- and second-round picks in running backs Beanie Wells and Ryan William...

Peter from Rutland, Vt., points to Anthony Dixon's failed third-and-1 rushing attempt in the NFC Championship Game as one reason the San Francisco 49ers might have signed former New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs. This play escaped my att...

A confusing judgment call favoring the New York Giants enabled their comeback victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. Was Giants receiver Victor Cruz really down when he lost the football late in the game? A fumble in that situation likely w...

New coordinator Gregg Williams inherits a St. Louis Rams defense that ranked seventh in sacks per pass attempt this season. That ranking seems high for a team that finished with a 2-14 record. But with Chris Long and Robert Quinn, the Rams do h...

Filippo from Windsor, Canada, thinks Alex Smith, not Kyle Williams, was the 49ers' biggest problem in the NFC Championship Game. He wondered whether the team could trade for Peyton Manning this offseason. Mike Sando: There will almost certainly be...

There was never any evidence the New York Giants had taken cheap shots on San Francisco 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams during the NFC Championship Game. There was only proof that some Giants players hoped to capitalize on Williams' history of c...

Alex Smith finished the San Francisco 49ers' two-game playoff run with five touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 101.0 NFL passer rating. 2011 Alex Smith QBR by Game (50 is avg.) Wk. Opp. Result QBR 5 TB W, 48-3 98...

The New York Giants wanted to do more than knock out the football from San Francisco 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams. They also reportedly wanted to knock out Williams, or at least inflict a concussion on him. "He's had a lot of concussions,"...

Looks like San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh isn't the only one questioning the forward-progress ruling that wiped out a New York Giants turnover in the NFC Championship Game. ESPN's Mike Wilbon takes issue with that call, but mostly he engag...

The San Francisco 49ers' playoff elimination suddenly forces them to face the tough questions an offseason brings into focus. Forget about Kyle Williams' rough day on punt returns in the NFC Championship Game. Those miscues were unfortunate, but n...