The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: 49ers 20 - Panthers 23

Offensive: For the fourth week in a row the 49ers have had an excellent opening drive.  In the first drive, the 49ers marched down the field 74 yards in four plays and scored a touchdown.  The biggest play was on a 53-yard pass to Vernon Davis.


Defensive: Nate Clements looked good today with 8 tackles, one forced fumble, and a sack but the defensive hero was Ray McDonald who picked off Matt Moore and ran it back 31 yards for a touchdown.


The Good: The 49ers defense was able to shutdown both the Panthers running backs and only allowed 76 yards rushing.  This was a concern especially with the speedier DeAngelo Williams. 


The Bad: As much as fans and media types know that Alex Smith is not the future at quarterback for the 49ers, he is still the best quarterback on the team.  Without Smith, expect to see even more run plays because Mike Singletary has no confidence in any of the other quarterbacks.


The Ugly: The playcalling by Mike Johnson after the 49ers got the lead in the second half.  Instead of trying to win the game, they offensive strategy seemed to be to not lose the game and hope the defense can stop the Panthers.  To be fair, this is likely more of Mike Singeltary's fault then Mike Johnson.


What's Next: The 49ers get on a plane to fly to London and will play Sunday against the Denver Broncos.  If Alex Smith can't go then the 49ers will have a hard time beating the Broncos if they depend on the defense to win the game.