Giants vs. 49ers: 2 Key Takeaways from San Francisco's Loss to New York

I decided to take time to ponder all that transpired yesterday in the San Francisco 49ers' loss to the New York Football Giants. So I slept on it, and thought on it, rather than write an emotional and angry article like I would have if I wrote something yesterday.

The bottom line is, this was a great season. At the beginning of the season we would have never thought possible what the Niners did this year. I, like many hardcore Niner fans, have to manage my expectations of my teams in order to not get too upset if they don't live up to them. The fact that the 49ers were 13-3 in the regular season and brought us fans not one but two postseason home games should be enough to give us contentment.    

But the fact is we aren't content; we wanted to be in the Super Bowl. And as many NFL players can tell you, it is not easy to get back to the NFC championship game, let alone the Super Bowl—just ask Dan Marino. This opportunity was served up on a platter to the 49ers and the law of statistics bit them in the butt during the wrong game of the year.  

There are, however, some takeaways to glean from yesterday's game. 

We Have a Young Team

The last several years have been good for the 49ers in the draft. They have an extremely solid base of young players to build upon from year to year. With the exception of a few key offseason re-signings like Dashon Goldson, Carlos Rogers and Alex Smith, they have a solid and youthful foundation that we fans can get excited about for years to come. 

Defense Wins Championships, But...  

You still have to put points on the board. This game, like many before it, showed again the 49ers' offensive weaknesses. They were 1-of-13 for third-down conversions. They had only one wide receiver with a catch, which came from Michael Crabtree, a person they should have thrown to more.  

We can look at both unfortunate fumbles by Kyle Williams, but in particular the one in overtime never should have happened because the Niners should have moved the ball 30 yards and kicked a field goal to win the game in overtime. Instead they went a pathetic three-and-out and put the ball back in Eli Manning's hands.

Yes the Giants defense was pretty good, but the Niners offense was also pretty poor. Yet, shockingly, they still led the Giants in a few interesting stats. The Niners averaged more yards per carry and yards per passing attempt, which is a testament to just how good the 49er defense is, but you still have to be able to move the ball down the field. 

The 49ers must get some offensive weapons this offseason. Josh Morgan will be back and hopefully he makes a difference. We still need a wideout who can get separation and get open consistently. This will open up more options for Alex Smith as one or two more offensive weapons will help Vernon Davis as well as Frank Gore and the running game. 

As much as it hurts to have squandered such an opportunity, it is simply stunning that the Niners were not just in a position to win yesterday in overtime but in the NFC championship in the first place given their offensive weaknesses.  

I have faith in the 49ers ownership and coaching staff that they will address these issues in the offseason. I hope that what we witnessed this year is just the beginning of something and that the 49ers can once again contend for the NFC every season.