Delanie Walker’s third-quarter touchdown catch made the difference on Thursday as San Francisco beat Seattle 13-6 in a tough defensive battle to seize the lead in the NFL’s NFC West division.
San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith completed 14 of 23 passes for 140 yards, one touchdown and one interception and David Akers booted a pair of field goals for the 49ers, who rebounded from a lopsided loss to the New York Giants last weekend in a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship game.
Frank Gore ran for 131 yards on 16 carries for San Francisco and had five catches for 51 yards to help the 49ers come out on top in their first division match-up of the season.
“I was expecting a close, physical game because that’s how both our games were last year,” Smith said. “I didn’t expect a big stat game, but this was a really tough one that we had tonight. This is a very satisfying win for the whole club.”
Seahawks signal-caller Russell Wilson endured a difficult game, completing just nine of 23 passes with an interception for the Seahawks, who had two first-half field goals from Steven Hauschka.
Seattle had won two straight coming into the game, but fell to 4-3.
Seattle led by three at halftime, but had to punt on the first possession of the second half.
San Francisco capped a drive with Smith’s 12-yard touchdown throw to Walker, and the 49ers’ Dashon Goldson then intercepted Wilson.
Smith then threw an interception of his own before San Francisco completed the scoring with a second field goal from Akers with 5:24 to play.
The contest kicked off a week of NFL action that includes an AFC East division clash between perennial contenders the New England Patriots and the New York Jets.
The Jets travel to New England tied with the Patriots for the division lead at 3-3, and Jets coach Rex Ryan was typically bullish on his team’s chances.
“I want them to know, and they know, that I think we’re going to beat them,” Ryan said. “Look, I recognize they’re a great football team and [Bill] Belichick is a great coach. I’ve never once said he wasn’t. But we’re not going to back down or concede anything.”
There’s plenty at stake tomorrow, with the winner remaining the standard-bearer in the division.
If it’s the Jets, they’ll be 3-0 in divisional play and have an advantage in potential tiebreakers.
“A division opponent is critical. We’ve only played one of those games this year,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. “They’re going to try to figure out what they need to do to stop us and we’ve got to figure out ways to move the ball and really put the ball in the end zone.”
Brady made it clear that 3-3 isn’t a record the Patriots are too proud of, nor is it something that troubles them too much.
“We haven’t earned a better record than that,” he said. “We haven’t played well enough and consistently enough to be better than that, but I don’t think six games defines a season.”
The Super Bowl champion New York Giants host the Washington Redskins in a clash of NFC East contenders.
The Giants top the division at 4-2, but both their defeats have come against division rivals.
The Giants defense is gearing up for the challenge of Washington’s fleet-footed rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III.
“He’s a good quarterback,” Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. “Forget all the running stuff. This guy is good. They got a real good player on their hands and we got a problem on ours.”
Since opening the season with a loss to Dallas, the Giants have won four of five games and are fresh off a victory over the 49ers in San Francisco. The Redskins will be playing their second straight game on the road, trying to build on a victory at Minnesota.
New Orleans, coming off a bye week and seeking just their second win of the season, visit a Tampa Bay team buoyed by a big 38-10 victory over Kansas City last week.
Other games see Baltimore at Houston, Tennessee at Buffalo, Dallas at Carolina, Cleveland at Indianapolis, Green Bay at St. Louis, Arizona at Minnesota, Jacksonville at Oakland, Pittsburgh at Cincinnati and on Monday, Detroit at Chicago.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and