The challenge flag came out of Jim Harbaugh’s hand, and as it sailed onto the field, it carried a fear that surely formed in the back of the 49ers coach’s mind.
That Vernon Davis couldn’t be ruled out of bounds at the Pittsburgh 1-yard line, that the 49ers tight end had to have reached the end zone on this potential 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith.
Because that might be the only way San Francisco’s offense ever reaches the end zone.
Harbaugh lost his third-quarter challenge, settling for a 21-yard play.
But the very next snap delivered to the coach and his team what they really wanted – and really needed: a touchdown in the red zone. Smith and Davis hooked up for a 1-yard scoring pass, jabbing the red-zone voodoo doll that has hexed the 49ers and knocking out the perennially powerful Pittsburgh Steelers.
San Francisco’s 20-3 victory, in the wake of an epic buildup that captivated a nation of fans, served as a form of validation for the labor of last week, when the 49ers devoted additional practice time to an offense in the habit of flinching at the sight of the goal line.
This tendency to shrink in the red zone – NFL parlance for the area within 20 yards of the goal line – is bound to haunt the 49ers in the postseason and already cost them a game nine days ago in Arizona.
They weren’t ready to make it two games lost to up-close ineptitude.
The 49ers (11-3) reached the red zone three times and twice came away with touchdowns. Their first trip, to the Pittsburgh 4, ended with a 22-yard field goal from David Akers. The other two resulted in the Davis touchdown and another from running back Frank Gore to punctuate the scoring in the fourth quarter.
A fourth possession that ended at the Pittsburgh 20, not considered “inside” the red zone, concluded with a 38-yard field goal from Akers.
Considering the opposition, a Steelers team that had held its previous three opponents to a total of 19 points, this was an impressive statement, an offensive unit answering the call of Harbaugh and his staff.
Players and coaches, frustrated after getting inside the Arizona 6-yard line three times in the first half on Dec. 11 and coming away with three field goals – which stung them in a 21-19 loss – were being clobbered with this problem.
The 49ers entered Monday with the lowest red-zone touchdown percentage in NFL (35.6). Only three of their previous 19 red-zone trips had resulted in touchdowns.
How bad was it? San Francisco entered this game with zero red-zone touchdowns in December.
On a team with few major problems, this effort made clear that this staff can solve those problems it identifies and addresses.
Already in the playoffs, having won the NFC West, the 49ers are smart to devote the final weeks of the season to healing the aches (particularly those belonging to inside linebacker Patrick Willis) and buffing out their rough spots. Most of the buffing last week was applied to red-zone offense.
It was the area most obviously in need of repair. The 49ers had to, for ultimately, the full weight of this futility was going to stick to the reputation of the man who can’t seem to shake the bull’s-eye.
Those who accept him call him Alex. Those who continue to fire arrows in his direction tend to describe him with language in bright shades of blue.
The real problem cropped up whenever Alex and the offense glimpsed red. The red zone has been their most difficult opponent in 2011. It has teased them, taunted them and more often than not left them muttering to themselves.
The red-zone issue, more than any other, stands between the 49ers and the genuine belief that they can surprise folks when the playoffs roll around next month.
One game does not a fix make. But it’s an encouraging sign for this team. And this quarterback.
The 49ers have the weapons to move the ball through the air. They can move it on the ground. They can blast it off the golden toe of their kicker, Akers, who in this game set a franchise record for scoring in a season.
They learned on this night that they can move the ball through the red zone, into the end zone, against one of the league’s strongest defensive units.
If Harbaugh didn’t have full confidence in that before flinging that flag – and any questionable self-esteem would have been justified – he eventually saw enough to make him feel better by the time he walked into the field at Candlestick Park.
