49ers 25, Lions 19: 49ers Win One Battle With Lions, Then Start Another

This is now, when a melee breaks out after the game because the coaches — the head coaches — nearly come to blows. The 49ers’ 25-19 victory over the Lions on Sunday gave the Lions (5-1) their first loss and solidified the 49ers (5-1) as one of the biggest surprises of the season. It was messy (21 penalties) and it was physical (seven sacks).

And that was before the postgame handshake, which required a tale of the tape.

Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco’s coach, and Jim Schwartz, Detroit’s coach, briefly crossed paths much earlier in their careers when both were with the Baltimore Ravens — Harbaugh as a quarterback, Schwartz as a defensive assistant. Now they are widely respected young coaches leading teams on the rise. Their shared experience apparently did not ensure that they could get through the most rudimentary part of the game without incident.

Harbaugh, who also had a handshake kerfuffle with Seattle’s Pete Carroll when both were college coaches, was gleeful about his team’s victory as he approached Schwartz. That was when he wound up for a big, roundhouse hand slap, a haymaker of a handshake.

“It was totally on me — too hard a handshake,” Harbaugh said. “It was a strong kind of slap kind of handshake.”

Schwartz, looking a little stunned, apparently did not appreciate Harbaugh’s enthusiasm because as Harbaugh turned to run off the field, Schwartz gave chase and jostled with him.

“Didn’t expect an obscenity at that point, so it was a surprise to me at the end of the game,” Schwartz said. “Obviously, you win a game like that, you’re excited and things like that, but I think there’s a protocol that goes with this league.”

The new protocol could include having a buffer zone between coaches. As players from both teams headed for the tunnel to the locker rooms, the crowd — and the anger — grew. Finally, the 49ers public-relations official Bob Lange positioned himself between the two coaches and moved Harbaugh away while a 49ers player shoved Schwartz aside.

Harbaugh said that when he saw Schwartz in the tunnel, he told him that he shook his hand too hard and that the moment was his fault. He did not apologize. The N.F.L. said it would review the incident.

Harbaugh, who had been sought after by college and professional teams alike before leaving Stanford after last season to coach the 49ers, has transformed them in his image, infusing them with a confidence and commitment that his quarterback, Alex Smith, said he had never seen in the N.F.L. They are in prime position to win the N.F.C. West, which was won last season by Carroll’s Seahawks with a losing record as the 49ers finished 6-10.

“A year ago, games like this we lost,” said tight end Delanie Walker, who caught a 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 1 minute 51 seconds to play that gave San Francisco the lead in the fourth quarter. “That’s the turnaround. All of it comes from the coach. The way he acts. He was sure fired up. Jim Harbaugh is one of those guys who is always fired up.”

Harbaugh had plenty to be fired up about. The 49ers sacked Matthew Stafford five times and forced him into off-kilter, off-target throws throughout the game. They neutralized receiver Calvin Johnson, who had entered the game with nine touchdown catches but was kept out of the end zone Sunday.

The 49ers also had a balanced offense that gained 203 rushing yards — exposing the Lions’ biggest weakness. And Harbaugh got a rocket of a touchdown pass from Smith to Walker. That reaffirmed Harbaugh’s decision to place the team in the hands of Smith, a former No. 1 overall draft pick, even though his career had been largely left for dead by previous San Francisco coaches.

It all came together to give the 49ers their third fourth-quarter comeback victory on the road this season, prompting Harbaugh to say he feels “something special is brewing here.”

Perhaps so. This victory was a significant one for the 49ers — probably more important to them than it would have been to the Lions, who have already been accepted as legitimate contenders.

But it will be overshadowed, at least for a few days, by Harbaugh’s actions. Harbaugh was asked if his emotions might eventually undermine his coaching. A wide smile spread across his face.

“We’ll see; I don’t think I’m that emotional,” he started, before pausing. “I will say I was very emotional about our team. When you’re with a group of guys and you’re trying to do something special, to see your guys play that way — yeah, it fires you up. It fires me up. I don’t apologize for that. If that offends you or anybody else, so be it.”

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Huskies, Bears battle for No. 3 in the North?

Stanford and Oregon were a combined 24-2 last year and both are presently ranked in the nation's top-10. They are the top of the Pac-12 North. The number of people who don't think one or the other will win the division is 17, and six of them are Norwegian, folks who as you well know are notoriously contrarian when it comes to college football analysis.

Looking up at the Ducks and Cardinal are four other the North teams, but the two top candidates for the three-hole will be in Seattle on Saturday scrapping it out for the right to become a "maybe" contender that could make the Norwegians look like giants of prognostication: California and Washington, neither of whom enjoy hearing about how great Stanford ("Blech," say the Bears) and Oregon ("Pfffftt," say the Huskies) are.

These two combined for 12-13 record last fall, with the Huskies managing to win seven games only because they pried No. 5 away from Cal on what suddenly -- wham! -- became the final play of the Bears season.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Marcio Jose SanchezChris Polk's 1-yard touchdown with no time left lifted Washington past Cal last season.That dramatic finish -- a fourth-down, 1-yard TD plunge from Huskies running back Chris Polk as time expired on a 16-13 victory -- was the cornerstone of what is supposed to be a transformative season for Washington.

It was not greeted so warmly in Berkeley, where the Bears found themselves saddled with their first losing record in nine years under coach Jeff Tedford. Bears fans, suffice it to say, grumbled a bit, and the Bears themselves weren't exactly clicking their heels over the program's slide, either.

Tedford, however, is only willing to obliquely note that Cal might come to Seattle with an added chip on its collective shoulder.

"It was motivation through the whole offseason and the summer time, but this is a different team and they're a different team," Tedford said before adding. "It was odd how that game ended. It was somewhere we've never been before."

As if last year's game isn't enough of a poke in the eye, Cal adherents also might recall that the last time the Bears were inside Husky Stadium, they got bombed 42-1o, perhaps Jake Locker's career-best game.

These teams will come at each other with similarities: New starting QBs who have mostly exceeded expectations. And differences: Cal's defense ranks among the conference leaders; Washington's among the conference laggards.

As for Cal's Zach Maynard, this will be his SECOND -- not first, SECOND -- major road test. He mostly passed his first during an overtime win at Colorado, but Husky Stadium is notoriously tough on visiting foes, though it doesn't appear the house will be full.

"I think Zach is on track to become a very good player," Tedford said. "He has a lot of ability. He probably can use his legs better than any quarterback we've had here, so that is an added dimension to our offense."

While Maynard has been solid, sophomore Keith Price has been stellar for the Huskies. He leads the conference with 11 TD passes and ranks fourth in passing efficiency, ahead of some notables such as Arizona's Nick Foles and USC's Matt Barkley.

"He's playing phenomenal football for us right now," coach Steve Sarkisian said. "He's been lights out."

But Price will be playing against a tough Cal defense that has 11 sacks and ranks second in the conference in pass-efficiency defense.

Maynard will face a defense that ranks last in the conference in scoring (36.7 ppg) and 11th in total defense (452.0). Still, a review of the Huskies depth chart -- defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu, defensive end Hau'oli Jamora, middle linebacker Cort Dennison, cornerback Desmond Trufant -- suggests this crew should be playing better.

Which is why much of the muttering in Seattle this week has been about well-compensated coordinator Nick Holt.

"I trust Nick Holt," Sarkisian said. "I believe in Nick Holt. I believe in our defensive staff. They are tremendous coaches. I've seen them coach for years. And we will get better."

How? Simple. Freaking stop dithering and go hit somebody.

"We're playing with some hesitation," Sarkisian said. "We're not letting loose and letting go. We're a little bit afraid to make a mistake."

The winner Saturday immediately announces itself as a top-half of the division team. And that is a necessary first step toward challenging Oregon and Stanford, who have finished one-two in the conference the previous two seasons.

The Norwegians have high hopes.

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