The 49ers, one week after being eliminated from the playoffs, started slowly versus the Lions.

During the second half they got it together and moved another step closer to the only large goal they have remaining- avoid their seventh losing season in a row.

Frank Gore scored a touchdown on a one yard run and went over 1,000 yards rushing for the fourth season in a row. The 49ers capitalized on six Lion turnovers to defeat Detroit on Sunday 20-6.

Alex Smith connected with Vernon Davis on a touchdown pass, as the 49ers (7-8) scored both of their touchdowns during the third quarter. San Fransisco closed their home season out with a win and needs a victory next week in St. Louis to finish the season with a .500 record.

Smith said, it’s for our pride. Right now that’s what we are playing for. Since I have been with the team we haven’t had a better finish than 7-9. It is something that we all are playing for right now.

In the first start of his career for Detroit (2-13), Drew Stanton struggled. He passed for only 130 yards and threw three interceptions before Daunte Culpepper replaced him mid fourth quarter.

It was the fifth loss in a row for Detroit, who failed to score any touchdowns, and 20th straight loss on the road.

Jim Schwartz, Detroit coach said, last week we talked about how a quarterback’s true measure is his ability to lead the team and score points. Today we didn’t do that. We didn’t move the ball, we didn’t get our third down conversions, we didn’t score any touchdowns, and we had too many turnovers. How well Drew performed doesn’t matter. Our offense didn’t do its job. That is ultimately the quarterback’s responsibility.

Last week Culpepper was replaced with Stanton in Detroit’s search to find a quarterback with Matthew Stafford, rookie starter out for the remainder of the season due to an injured shoulder. Schwartz didn’t say who would be his starting quarterback next week versus Chicago.

Until the third quarter when they scored two touchdowns to pull away, the 49ers didn’t do much better. Their first touchdown came on third down and goal at the 2 yard line. Smith rolled out and flipped a pass over to David right before he cross over their line of scrimmage.

It would have been an easy play for Smith to run the ball in himself, but instead he opted to get the football over to Davis who scored on his 12th touchdown reception this season, one touchdown short of the record held by Antonio Gates for tight ends.

On fourth down and one during their next drive, Smith connected with Gore, who was wide open. Gore ran the ball for a 48 yard gain down to the 6 yard line. He dove in from the one yard line two plays later to make the score 20-3.

Mike Singletary, 49ers head coach, thought that their slow start may have been due to the fact that it was a holiday week or because San Fransisco had been eliminated from the playoffs. He was happy with how the team finished the game.

Singletary said, bottom line we came out for the second half, picked things up and got things going. We started to create some things and execute.

Gore rushed for 71 yards in 28 carries. For the season he has a total of 1,013 yards rushing. He is the first 49ers player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season four times.

Gore said, it does mean a lot to me. This season was very up and down. I had to miss a few games. That was tough. It has been a tough year. This is a blessing. I give it all over to my offensive line. They did a really great job.

Smith was 20 out of 31 for a total of 230 yards passing and had his 17th touchdown pass for the season, his career high, as he attempts to solidify his status as the team’s starting quarterback for next season.

During their first drive, Detroit was able to move the ball. Their 15 play, 76 yard drive resulted in a field goal of 27 yards by Jason Hanson. For the remainder of the first half, the Lions only got three additional first downs. They had one interception and two fumbles, giving the 49ers good field position during most of the half.

Calvin Johnson, Lions receiver said, it was his first start. What we need to do is build some chemistry with him. It’s tough when a young quarterback goes out for his first time. There were plays that lots of players just left out on the field. We can’t do that. During the first half we hung in there, but the second half was like that same old story. For a little bit we just stalled and then couldn’t get things going.

Detroit didn’t get any more points until late fourth quarter when Hanson booted another field goal, long after the game had been decided and Culpepper had come into the game.

San Francisco wasn’t able to capitalized off of any of Detroit’s errors, even though they received the ball near midfield each time. On fourth down and one Gore was stuffed after Stanton had fumbled. San Francisco also was forced to punt following a fumble by Johnson. During the closing seconds first half a field goal attempt of 28 yards by Ricky Schmitt was blocked by Grady Jackson.

This week Schmitt was singed to replace Joe Nedney, who is injured. He made two field goals to give the 49ers the lead at 6-3 earlier first half.

Making it to the playoffs has become so routine for Philadelphia that they don’t even celebrate it now.

Donovan McNabb ran for one touchdown and passed for another, while DeSean Jackson got 140 receiving yards as Philadelphia defeated San Francisco on Sunday 27-13 to clinch a spot in the playoffs for the eighth time in the decade.

However, none of the other seven playoff berths have resulted in winning the Super Bowl.

McNabb said, clinching a playoff spot early is always a good thing. However we still need to put our foot to the pedal. It is exciting, but we can’t get too excited about this. We have a goal of winning the NFC East and getting a bye week. The only chance we have to get that is to win our last two games.

The loss by the 49ers gave the Cardinals their second NFC West title in a row.

Philadelphia (10-4) has won five games in a row and has a one game lead in the NFC East over Dallas. In two weeks the Eagles will visit the Cowboys.

The game’s starting time got pushed three hours back because Philadelphia was still trying to recover from the second biggest snowfall in the city since records started being kept in 1884. On Saturday Philadelphia received 23.2 inches of snowfall.

Inside of Lincoln Financial Field it didn’t appear to be too bad until some of the fans start to throw snow during the fourth quarter. When LeSean McCoy ran the ball in for a touchdown from 2 yards to give Philadelphia a 27-13 lead, a few die hard, frozen fans threw snow up into the air to celebrate. Some of the fans also threw snowballs, aiming for 49er fans. They stopped after a warning message was flashed over the video screen.

Andy Reid, Eagles coach said, we don’t really need to be throwing snowballs. Here in Philadelphia we are a classy group. Save it for out in the parking lots.

49ers running back Frank Gore rushed for 107 yards. He became the first player in 24 games versus the Eagles to go over 100 yards. However San Francisco (6-8) wasn’t able to overcome Alex Smith’s three interceptions.

McNabb went 21 for 36 for a total of 306 yards passing. He had two interceptions for only the second time all year.

McNabb said, I definitely would like to have those throws back. It was very uncharacteristic for me. I tried forcing the ball.

Trailing at halftime 20-3, San Francisco was able to score 10 points quickly to close the gap. On the kickoff for the second half Josh Morgan had a return of 52 yards. However the 49ers offensive wasn’t able to take advantage and they had to settle for a field goal of 25 yards from Joe Nedney.

Dre’ Bly then intercepted a cross-body pass by McNabb into double coverage. The 49ers were able to take advantage this time. Smith threw a touchdown pass of 12 yards to Morgan to bring the score to 20-13.

Early fourth quarter Philadelphia had an 89 yard drive and increased the score to 27-13 on a touchdown run by McCoy. On third down and 2, McNabb had a pass of 59 yards to Jackson to keep the drive alive.

On Philadelphia’s opening possession, McNabb scrambled and then connected on a touchdown pass of 19 yards with Jackson to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. It was Jackson’s shortest touchdown reception of the season. He has 11 touchdowns in total and has tied an NFL record with his eight scores of 50 yards or more, including one rushing and two on punt returns.

Jackson said, it’s challenging for me going out there and having people focus on me all the time like they do. It’s a great challenge for me and our team to still go out and be able to make things happen.

On the first possession for the 49ers, Nedney booted through a field goal of 51 yards.

Coming off their impressive Monday night win over the Cardinals, San Francisco started slowly after their short week and flight cross country. However, Philadelphia wasn’t very sharp either.

Mike Singletary, 49ers coach said, this wasn’t our best performance obviously. We came out to play a much different game. There were things we needed to do. We just didn’t get them done.

During the first quarter, Michael Vick left due to a quad contusion and didn’t return to the game. On fourth down and one from the 29 yard line of Philadelphia, Reid made a very gutsy decision to go for it. However Michael Lewis and Takeo Spikes, two former Eagles, stuffed Lenard Weaver.

San Francisco was unable to take advantage of great field position. Delanie Walker was stripped by Sheldon Brown after a catch of 8 yards. The ball was recovered by Asante Samuel on the 6 yard line. McNabb then led Philadelphia on a nine play, 94 yard drive. He ran the ball in from 8 yards out to make the score 14-3.

On the next possession of the 49ers, Samuel picked off a pass from Smith. He returned the ball down to the 28 yard line of the 49ers to set a field goal of 22 yards up by David Akers.

Arizona lost their discipline as well as their opportunity to clinch the NFC West crown for the second year in a row. They threw away the ball and fumbled it away even more.

Two out of the seven turnovers for the Cardinals led to two Alex Smith touchdown passes, while Frank Gore rushed for 167 yards and scored a touchdown. With their dominating 24-9 win on Monday night over Arizona, San Francisco kept their very slim hopes to make the playoffs alive.

Darnell Dockett, Arizona tackle said, it wasn’t anything that they did I don’t think. We lost the game on our own.

The relentless defensive attack by the 49ers forced a sloppy Cardinals team into five turnovers in the first half and prevented Kurt Warner from getting into a groove. During the opening half Warner had two interceptions after passing 130 times without any pick offs.

The Cardinals (8-5) still have the opportunity to clinch their division crown by winning two of their last three games.

Gore said, we came out here and really dominated. We got a win versus a team that has been playing great football and that could have clinched the division with a win. They allowed me to get into the zone. When a running back is able to get into the zone, it is tough to stop him.

It was the most productive game for Gore since Week 2. He ran all over a Cardinals defense that last week held Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson to only 19 yards rushing in their victory over the Vikings. After rushing for just 30 yards in 22 carries on September 13 in the season opening win in Arizona, Gore was very motivated to have a big night.

Smith, who came into the game having passed for 310 yards, his career high, in the team’s loss last week in Seattle, connected with Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis on touchdown passes. He went 19 for 35 for a total of 144 yards passing. San Francisco (6-7) answered the challenge of coach Mike Singletary to make a strong statement versus the current NFC champions on a national stage.

Arizona matched a high for turnovers in the NFL this season. It was their second game in 2009 having six or more turnovers, delighting Candlestick Park’s sellout crowd. Last season they had seven versus the Jets in a game they lost 56-35.

It was the first time San Francisco had forced seven turnovers since having eight on September 14, 1997 versus New Orleans. Their five forced fumbles set a franchise record. Two of the fumbles came from Dashon Goldson, safety.

Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals coach said, clinching the division I don’t think was ever a big thing for us. We were playing a team that earlier this year beat us, it was a Monday Night Football game, the week before we have a very emotional game versus the Vikings. We were very excited. We lost some of our discipline. That’s something you can’t ever do.

San Francisco not too long ago had been hoping the game would decide the division crown. However after starting 3-1, the 49ers lost six of their next games. For this game they showed up. It was a night where Jerry Rice and Steve Young, former stars for San Francisco were working the ESPN pregame show from their sideline.

Singletary said, I really can’t express how very proud of this team I am. All week that was what we talked about. Let’s go out there and see just how good we really can be and not kill ourselves.

After having the finest four game streak in his career, Warner had a dud. He went 16 for 29 for a total of 178 yards passing and was sacked four times. Johnny Unitas and Warner are the only quarterbacks in NFL history to have a passer rating for four games in a row of 120 or more.

Warner said, sometimes this game is crazy, just like anything is in this life. You get to some point and and think, okay maybe we are there now. Then it turns out, no you aren’t there quite yet. We continue finding that out.

Arizona wasn’t helped at all when they lost Larry Fitzgerald, their star receiver, early second half due to an injured right knee after he was landed on by Goldson. He returned to the game later.

Davis caught a touchdown, his 11th this season, to extend his tight end franchise record. The second touchdown reception of Crabtree’s career, a catch of 35 yards, came a minute before halftime. A field goal of 37 yards was added by Joe Nedney.

Mid third quarter, the Cardinals finally scored on a field goal of 48 yards by Neil Rackers. Early fourth quarter on fourth down and goal at the one yard line Beanie Wells scored with a second effort that was very impressive. The attempt for an extra point was blocked by Ray McDonald.

Dre’ Bly, 49ers cornerback said, when you are able to force turnovers the way we did tonight, when you have six or seven, there is no way that you will lose.

From the very start of the game the Cardinals were completely out of sync. During the opening drive for the 49ers, Arizona jumped offside three times in four snaps.

With four and a half minutes left first quarter, the 49ers used their second and last review. They won, giving Bly a fumble recovery off of Tim Hightower and first down and goal from the 49ers 8 yard line.

Two plays later Smith connected with Davis on a 5 yard touchdown pass to give the 49ers a lead of 7-0.

Whisenhunt said, both of our backs fumbled. That’s not acceptable. It was ugly obviously for all of us. We are embarrassed and disappointed.

Crabtree caught five passes for a total of 67 yards receiving.

Seattle was bracing for another Frank Gore rampage. What they got instead was an Alex Smith career passing day, a new spread offense from the 49ers, and a gift victory.

Aaron Curry, Seahawks rookie outside linebacker said, when they eliminate one of the problems for us, it’s a real load off. That was beautiful. Curry was beaming over the fact that Gore, who three months ago romped for 202 years versus Seattle, on Sunday only ran with the ball nine times.

That fact along with a multitude of mistakes by the 49ers helped to keep the Seahawks in the game. As time expired Olindo Mare booted a field goal of 30 yards to give Seattle a 20-17 win over the 49ers.

Patrick Willis, 49ers linebacker said, right now it’s very disheartening.

San Francisco attempted to ice Mare by calling a time out. However on a day that was already cold, the veteran kicker made the second of his go ahead field goals during the fourth quarter and extended his franchise record of making 18 field goals in a row for Seattle (5-7). The victory kept Seattle’s hopes alive for having a winning season, but probably not a spot in the playoffs.

San Francisco (5-7) had more blown chances than they could ever have imagined, especially missing the opportunity to keep the pressure on the Cardinals for the NFC West title. Next Monday night Arizona will visit San Francisco.

Mike Singletary, 49ers coach said, we found ways to screw up in all situations. Teams who want to make it into the playoffs really cant afford doing that.

Alex Smith, who during his first 38 games in the NFL didn’t have any 300 yard passing games, passed for 310 yards inside San Francisco’s new offense. Smith, the 2005 No. 1 pick overall in the draft who in October was reinstalled as the starter for the 49ers, went 27 for 45 passing and threw two touchdown passes.

Vernon Davis caught one of the touchdowns. Davis caught six passes for 111 yards, his career high. The 10th touchdown for Davis this year set the 49ers team season record for touchdowns by a tight end.

The 49ers had multiple blown opportunities. During the first quarter they had incomplete passes from Seattle’s one yard line on third and fourth down. A punt return reverse fumble was botched by Brandon Jones and Arnaz Battle. Gore had another fumble when the mothballed runner was finally dusted off by the 49ers. Jordan Babineaux forced the fumble at the 22 yard line of Seattle. Josh Wilson returned the ball 43 yards, setting up the first field goal of Mare’s in the fourth quarter. A would be touchdown pass from Smith also slipped through the hands of Davis while inside the end zone and bounced off his face mask with the 49ers trailing late, 17-14. Davis said, I didn’t really know who Smith was trying to throw to.

Then Michel Crabtree, the rookie, had the ball graze off his helmet inside the end zone when he wasn’t looking, following a throw that came earlier than Crabtree was expecting when Smith was forced by a blitz. With 2:57 left to play San Francisco had to settle for a field goal of 34 yards from Joe Nedney to tie the game.

The 49ers discovered that their pass heavy approach does have some drawbacks, unless of course you’re a Seahawks player with the job of trying to stop Gore.

In seven previous games versus Seattle Gored had averaged 160 yards. In 2006 he had 212 yards, his career high, versus the Seahawks.

Curry said, anytime you are playing a team that runs for 300 yards, why wouldn’t you do it again, or try to?

Jim Mora, Seahawks coach said about Gore, I’m just happy he didn’t get the ball more often.

The fourth quarter was packed with mistakes, eptimozing the wild, mild West.

With 1:19 left to play Matt Hasselbeck completed four passes in a row, three of them going to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, brought the Seahawks down to the 40 yard line of the 49ers. Then the fourth completion for negative yardage came, a screen pass over to Julius Jones which Willis destroyed for a loss of 5 yards.

Chris Spencer, Seahawks center, was called for a false start pushing the Seahawks into third down and 19 with only 1:03 remaining. Then Hasselbeck throw a perfect pass to a striding Deion Branch at the 12 yard line of the 49ers, but the ball slipped through Branch’s hands.

Hasselbeck, in disbelief, bent over. For the 10th time in the game, Seattle punted the ball.

However the 49ers from their 11 yard line went three downs and out, all on passing plays. Deon Grant, Seahawks safety, dropped the last pass right at midfield.

The ensuring punt was returned by Nate Burleson 21 yards down to the 48 yard line of Seattle with just 21 seconds to play. The rookie Deon Butler, two plays later, raced past Keith Smith, cornerback, and the pass from Hasselbeck hit him right in stride to gain 32 yards.

According to Hasselbeck, Butler wasn’t one of Seattle’s first five options on the alert play. Hasselbeck said, you probably won’t get the ball, but stay alert.

However when a safety was cheated by the 49ers to the opposite side of the football field where there were three receivers and Smith was playing up on Butler, then Hasselbeck knew that his choice was Butler.

Seattle called a timeout one play later. Mare came in and did his job calmly. Jon Ryan, Seattle holder, along with the other Seahawks mobbed Mare on the field.

Seattle’s oldest player shrugged. I get paid for making field goals, the veteran said.