(By Daisy Barringer)

I knew the Niners wouldn't ruin Thanksgiving AND Christmas this year. I just knew it. There certainly was a lot at stake when they faced off against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, however. A chance at the No. 2 seed, beating a division rival, shutting up former 49ers GM Scot "I spell my name with one T' McClouglhan, and last, but the opposite of least: making all of my Christmas Dreams come true.

And while I may have promised Santa or God (which is which again?) that I would be good until 2035, and give money to charity, and never ever fall asleep drunk without washing my face and brushing my teeth again, it was totally worth it. Plus, the world's ending next year anyway, so... take that Santa-God! (Unless it doesn't, in which case, kindly ignore that last sentence.)

By now, you've already devoured all of the recaps and wrap-ups of the game, so I won't bore you with a play-by-play of a game that had my heart rate up for most of the fourth quarter. What I will bore you with, instead, is the fact that I thought I was going to get through this whole holiday season thingy without experiencing any feelings, like the good little WASP that I am. But then, the 49ers, trailing 10-3 at the half, came out and played the kind of second half football we've come to know, love, and, hate to say it: expect.

The eight-play, 75-yard drive, with a 16-yard pass to Vernon Davis (who struggled mightily in the first half) on 4th-and-2 and ended with a Gore TD run… Well, if that doesn't make you believe, there's no helping you.

Pair that with four field goals from David Akers, who now holds the records for most field goals made in a single season (42) and, well… 7 + 12 = the 49ers winning 19-17. Which, you may recall, is the exact score I predicted.

Clearly, it was a very close game that required plenty of beer to calm my nerves. I can hardly talk about the fact that as the Seahawks were closing in on field goal territory and a chance to win the game late in the 4th quarter, and Tavaris Jackson was running for the first down on 3rd-and-3, that Larry Grant came from out of no where, stripped the shit out of the ball from behind, and allowed Donte Whitner to recover it and secure a 49ers' victory.

The win and a 12-3 record. Some might call it a Christmas Miracle.

But it's not just that. It's also smart coaching, a solid offense, a formidable defense, and a special teams that, well, okay: Andy Lee's blocked punt almost lost us the game, but no one can be perfect all of the time.

I looked back at my post after our win against Seattle in Week 1 because I was curious if I'd predicted anything accurately. As you recall, we won that game. And I was happy, but also not happy. I talked a lot about how I didn't like Harbaugh's conservative coaching. And I quote:

“After years of close losses and near misses and not going to the playoffs, Niners'; fans want to see inspired play calling. We don't want two-yard passes and runs that go nowhere. We don't want fie
ld goal after field goal after field goal. We don't want to get to the red zone only to see seven straight run-calls. We want TOUCHDOWNS!”

While it appears I had the 49ers offensive play-calling nailed down pretty much to a T after only sixty minutes of play, I will now say that: I don't care. Okay, I care a little bit. I worry that field goal after field goal after field goal won't be good enough in the post-season, but hey: WE ARE GOING TO THE POST SEASON. So I'll let the coaching staff worry about that, and, for today at least: I&ll just sip my eggnog and be happy it's happening at all. (Gross. I don't drink eggnog. You might as well just smear that stuff straight onto your ass.)

Of course, lest you think I think I'm always right (which obviously I do, but am pretending isn't the case for your sake), I will fully admit: I was also off with a few of my predictions about Saturday's game. I thought our defense would be able to stop Marshawn Lynch and while we did hold Seattle to 126 rushing yards, which isn't shabby, it was the first time in the past 37 games our defense allowed over 100 yards rushing. Even more important, Lynch ran in a 4-yard touchdown that ended the Niners' 15 game streak of not allowing a rushing touchdown.

Which, I'm not going to lie: I am totally okay with. Frankly, that record was giving me more anxiety than it was worth. And more important: the 49ers are still the only team in the league to go 14 games without giving up a single rushing touchdown. So, uh: Yeah, pretty impressive.

But sure, there were some things that didn't go as well as we'd like. Why dwell on that stuff now though. My biggest concern? The health of our myriad of injured players:

>> WR Ted Ginn (Ankle injury during the Dec. 19th Steelers' game.)

>> TE Delanie Walker (Jaw injury after taking a knee to the face—reports are that it's broken.)

>> WR Kyle Williams (Head injury when a-hole Seahawks players illegally DRILLED him on a kickoff return—and then the fans started rudely chanting while he was down on the field. CLASSY!)

>> LB Patrick Willis (Hamstring—Also, not as big of a concern since Larry Grant is doing a good job in his place and we just need Willis healthy for the playoffs.)

But with Ginn, Walker, and Williams out, that means the 49ers have only Vernon Davis and Justin Peele as tight ends, and only Crabtree, Edwards, and Swain as wide receivers.

Hopefully, Atlanta destroys (or even just barely beats) New Orleans tonight, which would give the 49ers the No. 2 seed and take a lot of the pressure off of everyone during next Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams.

All we can do now is wait and see.

Okay, people. I'm writing this on Christmas. And while I love nothing more than going on and on about the 49ers… It's time for me to go find some merriment. And by merriment, I mean champagne.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. But, how could you not with a team like this?

Stay tuned for my 49ers at St. Louis preview on Friday.