Obviously the most important of having the lead, is that you have it when the clock expirers, but you can’t ignore the importance of being in the lead throughout the game. Given the 49ers struggles on offense, having been in the lead throughout the game allowed them to change up their offense a little resulting in a win, despite the team being sick and down at quarterback.

There was a time when the 49ers rarely had to come from behind. They have since learned that they can win when down in the fourth quarter too, and in the past few years, have been playing much closer games. It’s important that the 49ers not become complacent, and that they go out and try and score on the first drive of every game.

The team has been known to script the first 15 plays on each half. This method developed by Bill Walsh, had to purposes. One of the purposes, which still holds true today, was to evaluate how the opposition would line up its defense on certain key plays. The other purpose was to get a score as quickly as possible - this I believe has become the forgotten aspect on the script.