GAME DAY: SEATTLE AT SAN FRANCISCO, 5 P.M.
Last October, the San Francisco 49ers were all alone in first place and already on their way to winning the NFC West title in commanding fashion in coach Jim Harbaugh's first season.
That's hardly the case this year as they prepare for their division opener at home tonight against the Seattle Seahawks. There's a three-way tie at the top among 4-2 teams Arizona, San Francisco and Seattle.
"Everybody in our division got better," 49ers running back Frank Gore said. "That's OK, we're all right with that. We like it like that. We like it tough. We're tough enough to handle it."
After riding high for two weeks after consecutive blowout victories against the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, the 49ers had little time to figure out all that went wrong in a 26-3 loss Sunday to the reigning Super Bowl champion Giants at Candlestick Park.
"You've just got to go," Harbaugh said. "You've got to go right away."
Seattle fullback Michael Robinson describes it this way: "Go get in a car accident and then try to play two days later. That's how it feels."
These teams - the last two division winners - faced off in Weeks 1 and 16 last year, with the 49ers eliminating the Seahawks from post-season contention with a 19-17 road win on Dec. 24. That was the 49ers' first win in Seattle since 2008.
And Harbaugh certainly has had his way against Seattle coach Pete Carroll of late, winning the last four meetings dating back to that surprising 55-21 rout by No. 25 Stanford against Carroll's 11th-ranked Southern California team in 2009.
The Cardinal even attempted a two-point conversion with the game way out of reach - prompting Carroll's infamous "What's your deal?" when the coaching rivals met afterward at midfield.
Any ill will seems long gone for these two.
Carroll believes his Seahawks should be undefeated.
"Because of our lack of effectiveness last year, we stepped up and went about it differently this year," Carroll said. "Last year by our assessment there were six games that we could've won and we didn't win any of them. This year we have been in five and won three."
While San Francisco escaped with a narrow win at Seattle in December, the 49ers can find plenty of motivation from that game 10 months later.
Tight end Delanie Walker broke his jaw in two places when he took a knee to the face from Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill in the first quarter and didn't return until the NFC championship game.
NFC rushing leader Marshawn Lynch ran for 107 yards as San Francisco's defence had its streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher end at 36 games, going back to Green Bay's Ryan Grant in Week 11 of the 2009 season. Lynch's 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter also was the first TD rushing allowed by San Francisco all season.
But Lynch is coming off a 41-yard showing last weekend.
"I used to get tied up in all that," 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis said. "We still take pride in our run game. It's the NFL, and sometimes guys are going to have those days. Once again, it's a challenge for us to go out there and try to stop one of the best running backs in this game."
