big field goal. the 49ers throw a touchdown pass! david akers on a fake field goal. the 49ers execute.

>> michael crabtree with the second touchdown of the day to go with nine catches in the game. 49ers beat the rams 34-27, finished the year 13-3, but still work to do. mindy was in st. louis and tells us what is next for the niners. >> reporter: with two minutes left the three-yard pickup secured the second seed in nfc. the 49eres were not in a celebratory mood. >> went from not even going back in the game to games on the line and it's one-possession game and we've got to close it out. >> they gave us their best shot. they wanted to knock us off. we're a hot team now. so we've got to expect that. >> expectations have changed for the 13-3 49ers. allowing an opponent's offense seven days with more than 20 yards or defense to get to smith three times cannot be allowed in the postseason. >> the playoff, we're going to

have to ut aboput that together both sides of the ball. especially special team. when you talk about offense, defense, that third part of the equation counts a lot. >> that's the heart of a champion. you have to have another mind-set moving forward into the playoffs. this is the biggest stage of our lives right here. this is big. this is big time here. >> reporter: alex smith doesn't know if he'll focus on both defenses of the poe sengs tetep. first and foremost for the france team is rest. the players are expected to have monday through wednesday off this week, and possibly the weekend as well. in st. louis, "xfinity sports sunday." >> thank you very much. we continue the conversation. matt is in st. louis and he is the 49er insider. matt, let's begin with the 49ers team and the importance of getting the with bye in the fir

round. >> absolutely huge. some of these banged up guys can rest up, get all of the receivers back, ginn and williams will be back, probably not walker yet. and then the big thing. they will probably play the new orleans saints at candlestick park. it's a tough draw. not an easy draw but it's more simple playing than at candlestick park. >> you mentioned new orleans. you also have green bay out there. teams that can score big points. this this 49ers team built to score big opponents and outscore an opponent or is defense of the utmost importance in its not built to outscore team. it's built to keep high-scoring teams down. that's the formula for the 49er' success all season, 13-3. they've done it because of the defense. they've done it because of special teams and an offense that has set an nfl record with only ten turnovers for the season.

so it tells you right there, offensively they're not prolific but they done do anything to mess it up. >> when you're a kid in kindergarten they play a game called which of these things does not plong? rogers, brees, smith, should they be in the same sense ten or is one of the guys lacking? you know who i'm talk. >> they're all in the hunt. so i mean, clearly, drew brees and aaron rodgers are guy whose put up phenomenal seasons throwing the ball all over the yard. alex smith has had a very good season and when you talk about the turnovers, ten turnovers for the 49ers on the season, the reason for that is because of alex smith. the guy has taken care of the ball. a heady player. in the game sunday against the rams, even knew late in the game you take the sack. quarterbacks are conditioned to throw the ball away, not take a sack. with the clock winding down and the rams running out of time-outs he knew how to take a

sack. smith the biggest contribution to the 49ers, hasn't been his physical gifts it's from the shoulders up. >> all right. one of these things is not like the other. one of these things just doesn't belong, or does he? aaron rodgers considered the cream of the quarterback crop, drew brees set the new passing record. smith has thrown the fewest interceptions and led his team to the four fourth quarter comebacks. monty, happy new year to you. let start with the passing offense. can the quarterback alex smith win a game with his arm? >> he can. i don't think he's able to do it against saints or the packers. they have too many receivers. brees is just marvelous. rogers fantastic. these guys, brees is going to throw 4,500 yards and he's not going to win mvp. that tells you what's these guys

can do. alex has done a great job of controlling, keeping turnovers down and making sure that the niners don't fall over themselves in terms of giving up the football. they don't have enough weapons to compete with what you see when you come up against the saints for the packers. >> let's go to the 49ers defense. they have been dominance all season long but did give up 27 points to the two-win rams team. are there holes in that defense right now? is that the backbone of a playoff run? >> there's enough now to wonder because after last week, their streak of not giving up a rushing touchdown ended last week in seattle. so you know what? you got to wonder now, i mean i'm not sure i like the way 9ers are looking now, the way they are playing now. i love patrick willis, and he'll be 100%, i hope, but i don't know. they're facing really good -- i mean the best offense they have seen all year. i don't think they have quite

enough to contain offenses. >> monty poole, thanks for your insights. we'll talk to you later on in "xfinity sports sunday." 13-3 is nice. but in the playoffs, everybody sits in at 0-0. how the niners willgg dest flawa their biggest flaw, next.

next week on "xfinity sports sunday," we bring you your nfl playoff post game. we review the day's games and ready for 49ers playoff opener at the stick january4th, following wild card saturday on nbc bay area. >> it's the greatest achievement. you know, our players deserve all of the credit, you know, they battle, they never give up. you know, they never let up. they just keep going. they work extremely well.

they study hard. i mean, they dominate the details. >> let's continue here on "xfinity sports sunday." lorenzo rejoins us. for the 49ers it's the red zone offense. i don't think you can win scoring three points in the red zone, they have to punch it for serven. without a doubt. they have to score in the red zone. akers, great legs, pro bowl guy. they want to go far in the playoffs very they have do a better job in the red zone. they have a bye-week. i think they'll be ready. >> ready for january 14th, that's going to come at home. it's the saints, one high-powered offense. >> look at the saints, drew brees. all of these guys can do so many things but don't discount the lions. don't print the article because detroit lions playing well and can score a lot of points. it's a shoot-out. detroit, i'm thinking it could

be a possible spoil. >> you are leaving the door open for the motor city kitty. >> without a doubt. i'm going detroit. you heard it here first. >> wow. >> i bumped my head. >> i like that. i like stepping out on that limb, everybody. more to come. plenty of hope in store. plenty of stiff competition. the biggest playoff challenges fo

time for our play of the day. denver nuggets and the l.a. lakers. time running down, third quarter, miller, pass to anderson. beats the buzzer. >> bird man. >> bird man letting one fly. nuggets win 99-90. that is our play of the day. welcome back in, "xfinity sports sunday." of course, monty rejoins us

here. we talk 49eres and the playoffs. to the nfc. who is playing the best football in the nfc now? >> new orleans, i think. if you watch the offense operate and drew brees is look a surgeon. i mean, he gets back in the pocket, and he get figures out which of his 95 weapons to throw the ball to. he's so good at looking off the defensive back they don't know how to play him. i enjoy watching him work but i don't see how anybody's going to stop them know. >> you think the lions have a shot. can anyone beat green bay. >> green bay's the team to beat. i think green bay's a team to beat for a couple of seconds. aaron rodgers has more weapons thank anyone on earth. he can move if n. and out of the box et. thi >> does this playoff define him in some way. >> i wouldn't want to say that. i think the 9ers are playing

with house money, face it. they weren't supposed to be here. they were supposed to be getting eight, nine wins. >> house money means you're happy to be there. >> defense is that good and has been that good but it rides the coattails of the defense. it's not i team i see winning the super bowl. >> he's playing well. >> i ride the coattail. offense entertains but defense wins championship. when you look at the san francisco 49ers they beat up on teams, giants playoff teams. saints have lost to the teams that our team won. they lost to good teams. buccaneers. >> playoff start next week. more "xfinity sports sunday" next week. they'll continue the argument here. happy new year. a special edition of bay area news with diane dwyer is next.

right now on nbc bay area news, paper or plastic is no longer an option for people in one major bay area city. we'll have reaction and word that other cities may follow suit. also, the highest minimum wage in the country is in the

bay area. we'll show you which city is first to break the double digit mark. and the niners and raiders wrapped up the regular season today as you just saw. niners are getting ready for the playoffs, oakland is wondering, what if? the news starts right now. good evening, i'm diane dwyer. thanks for joining us for this special edition of nbc bay area news following sunday night football. breaking news tonight. homes are being evacuated in san francisco's panhandle neighborhood because of a three-alarm fire. the fire started between hate and federick. it started in one building but there are reports it is spreading. one person suffering from smoke inhalation. the fire department suspects arson about we'll have more at 11:00. in san jose the choice between paper and plastic ended at midnight.

the nation's toughest plastic bag ban. nbc bay area's kimberly tayery's in san jose to explain. >> reporter: these are out. these are in. reusable bags. if you're shopping in san jose it might be a good idea to start carrying them on you. shoppers have to bring or buy a reusable bag in san jose or the alternative to purchase paper bags containing 40% recycled material but it's going to cost 10 cents per bag. buying small items the cost per bags can quickly add up. if you don't want a bag, how are you going to walk out of the store with your items in you have a lot? you're subjected to having to pay so you can carry all of your stuff out of the store. >> realistically pay the money or no bag it. i can see someone like my mom bringing her own bags and other

people doing that, too. >> i knew the store policy was going in effect today they wouldn't be giving bags and i brought my own. >> the city council approved the ban aimed at creating a cleaner environment. all retail and grocery stores are affected. the only ones exempt, businesses exefmpt are nonprofit and restaurants. kimberly tere. environmentalists are hoping other cities will follow san jose's lead on the ban on plastic bag. other spots in the bay erroring tougher bags. marin county passed a similar ordinance that went into effect today. france made history today with the new minimum wage that is the highest in country at 10.24. in fact, san francisco's the only city in the country where minimum wage breaks the $10 barrier. workers like the wages but employers cite them as another

way the city makes it hard on businesses when employers add in the mandate from city hall the payroll tax at 1.5%, nine paid sick days and health care, businesses say they are feeling squeezed. san francisco. wage, in 2004, the minimum was .50. coming up next on nbc bay area news, tale of two cities. reaction interest theers.rs n nr [ male announcer ] citibank's new app for ipad makes it easy for anne to view her finances from anywhere. like gate d12 for the next three hours. citibank for ipad. easier banking. standard at citibank. is as easy as... making breakfast. omelet? sure. scrambled eggs.

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caramel...pretzel 90 calorie bar. ♪ nfl playoff questions answered for the 9ers and the raiders. as you saw, the niners locks up the number two seed while the raider season came to a disappointing end. here's lawrence scott with more. >> reporter: raiders had complete control of their own

destiny to win the division and host the playoffs next weekend with denver also losing but san diego played spoiler. here in oakland chargers running away with it raiders lose 38-26. >> it's like a bad dream, for sure. but it's reality. i think you know the reality of it is, we couldn't stop them when we needed to. >> the moral of the season is we need to finish. certain games of the year we lost and we shouldn't have lost in. we have got to finish, plain and simple. >> reporter: 49ers holding off the rams in st. louis to clinch the number two seed in the nfc. niners getting the first round buy and host the first playoff game the one after next. it was a tough day for the raider nation at the coliseum. tonight at 1 1:25 on sports sunday, we look back at the year that was in bay area sports.

oakland, lawrence scott. >> right now let's check out the weather with rob mayeda. >> we talked about this last night, we could get 70s and we saw that today. 68 san jose. morgan hill 77. 60s around the east bay hill thank to the wind. highs close to 60 there. santa rosa, 68. light winds into tomorrow, another spare the air day. down around the san cla clara valley, watching fog around the central valley drifting in from the east. offshore we have a change however. the system putting a dent in the ridge of high pressure but not clearing it out of the way. so we're not going to see any rain. all of that up on the north

coast. it should pump up the sea breeze, lead to a warm. we'll have clouds, not as much sunshine monday. then tuesday, winds turn-off shore. temperatures are warming up again for the middle part of the week. for the morning we are 30s and 40s. and unlike today we're going to have mostly cloudy skies to start the day. by let's say 4:00, start to clear out, temperatures tomorrow not in the 70s but 50s to low 60 percent. mild for this time of the year. no real chance of showers. the seven-day forecast takes thursday showers and pushes them off to the north. tuesday and wednesday we temperatures south of san jose getting close to 70. it does look like we're going to see numbers cooling a little bit next weekend. no sign of rain or snow, and we need it. >> we do it, for lots of different reasons. first things first, a group of committed swimmers, swimming

from alcatraz to san francisco new year's day p it wasn't a first for the winner. the veteran swimmer swimming open water races for 35 years won after a neck and neck competition with michael chase. >> over 100 swimmers are today. i wasn't the only one who likes to have mind-altering experiences. you jump in the watt, it's a bit of a shock but it is exhilarating at same time. you know that you're alive. >> exhilarating, sure. freezing. the water's between 49 and 51 degrees today. the bay looked flat, there was a strong current. the swim is about a mile and a quarter. tonight at 11:00, more on that three-alarm fire near golden gate park. more in alcatraz, the true story and one claim that the men who

escaped are still alive today. all that and more at 11:00. have a geed eveniood evening. see you in a hour and a half. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats

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