49ers embarrassed in Oakland as playoff dreams fade

The good news is Raiders fans like my friend Maria can legitimately say they won The Battle of The Bay 2014. The Silver and Black now lead their cross-bay rivals 7-6 in the series. The bad news is, while not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the San Francisco 49ers appear to be spinning out of control as they fell mercilessly to what was the worst team in the NFL, 24-13. The sentiment among the Faithful varies, but my tennis team Captain Nina compared this loss to the crushing of a higher ranked player by a lowly 3.0. Ugly doesn't even come close. Luckily there are fans like Cara who insists things have been much worse, and win or loose she is still a 49ers fan.
Maybe it's the soap opera surrounding the Niners that has even the national media questioning what is happening in Santa Clara. The telecast showed viewers the brief but perhaps a little too cordial handshake and greeting between Coach Jim Harbaugh and Raiders owner Mark Davis before the game, as rumors continue to circulate concerning Harbaugh's future. The dysfunction of both teams masked by the easy smiles.

After the loss, Harbaugh was visibly upset, but contends he hasn't let the outside distractions affect his focus.
"My priorities, number one, are winning football games," said Harbaugh. "Number two, the welfare of our players and staff, and lastly my personal and professional future."  
The nightmare for the visitors this afternoon started on the very first play of the game as embattled quarterback Colin Kaepernick overthrew Michael Crabtree and passed the ball right to Oakland's safety Brandian Ross. The Raiders took the early 3-0 lead. However, Kaepernick did find Bruce Miller for a short 8 yard touchdown pass after effectively moving the ball with a nice run by Fank Gore and even a pass to Vernon Davis. By halftime, the score was tied at 10. But the second half was all Raiders. Sparked by a raucous crowd the defense sacked  Kaepernick  5 times. He completed just 18 of 33 passes for 174 yards.  And the niners defense that so often has saved the team, had no answer for Rookie quarterback Derek Carr who completed 22 of 28 passes for 254 yards , 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. The game ended with Kaepernick's second interception. A reflection of the direction the two bay area teams are heading in. The Niners quarterback who said very little to the media after the Thanksgiving massacre at the hands of the Seahawks avoided the cameras immediately after the game. Instead it was the rookie, Carr who stole the show with his best game of the season, putting  on an offensive clinic. Showing his leadership, Carr thanked his players. "I gave it everything I have, we all did" said Carr. "Our receivers did a great job finding the open window. We have great chemistry. I owe them dinner, wherever they want to go. These guys deserve that. They deserve so much credit. We all worked really hard"
Raiders interim Head Coach Tony Sparano also shared the credit.
"It takes a lot of courage to do what that group did today," said Sparano. "I love these guys."
The love seems to be missing in San Francisco.  With what has become a familiar short answer session, Kaepernick simply offered this:
 "I have to play better," Kaepernick said.
For his part, Gore admitted he was "in shock," something many 49er faithful are sharing in.
"We don't feel like we are ourselves," explained the 31 year old running back. "We haven't found a rhythm all season."
It's hard to win football games without love and rhythm in San Francisco, that was after all the recipe for Harbaugh's success the past three years when he so eloquently asked: "Who's got it better than us?"  The answer to that question lies in the black hole today, and the path only gets darker as the Niners now must travel to Seattle to face their nemesis. Despite the grim outcome, Harbaugh isn't throwing in the towel yet. "There is no surrendering," Harbaugh concluded.
While Raiders fans are celebrating tonight, 49ers fans are left wondering what happened to their championship team with so much talent?