The current mark is nine, held by Ted Kwalick (1972) and Brent Jones (1994).

Davis has seven touchdown catches heading into Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.

Where did this breakout season come from?

Part of the answer is here, in this NFL Network video.

Davis takes his craft seriously. The opening sequence shows Davis catching ball after ball out of a Jugs gun. And I can attest that he isn’t doing this for the camera’s benefit. This is what Davis does all the time.

He constantly stays after practice to work on the art of catching the ball. He’ll stand on an empty practice field snaring hundreds balls shot from close range. Mike Singletary said he saw Davis doing the same thing all off-season, “Catching balls in every situation, every position.”

There’s a reason Davis was annointed as a team captain.

His work is paying off off. Davis leads the 49ers in receptions (32), receiving yards (375) and touchdowns (seven).

The NFL Network video will air Sunday on the GameDay Morning show. The four-hour pregame show starts at 6 a.m. Pacific Time.

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Jimmy Raye once identified Rich Gannon as the quarterback who best fit his system.

Today, Gannon returned the compliment.

The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback said Raye understood how to get the most out of his personnel while both were with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Totally,’’ Gannon said. “I think that’s one of Jimmy’s strengths. He understands what guys are capable of. He’s a guy you’re not going to fool. He’s a very intelligent guy.”

Gannon was at 49ers practice preparing for his job as a CBS television analyst. He and Raye were paired in Kansas City for four seasons starting in 1995.

Raye was the running backs coach for the first three seasons before being promoted to coordinator in ’98. Gannon played in a dozen games (10 starts) with Raye as coordinator, throwing 10 touchdowns, six interceptions and averaging 192.1 passing yards per game.

These days, Raye is under scrutiny for an offense that ranks 27th in the NFL. The 49ers go three-and-out an NFL-worst 40.3 percent of the time.

But Gannon urged patience. He noted that Raye stepped into an organization that constantly changes offensive coordinators and also inherited an unsettled quarterback situation.

“I think it takes two years to get comfortable,’’ Gannon said. “They need two off-seasons. They’ll make more progress next year when they figure out who they are.”

The key step in the evolution will be quarterback Alex Smith, who has played six solid quarters over the past two games.

Gannon, a late-bloomer who went on to win the 2002 MVP award with the Raiders, said it’s too tough to evaluate Smith because of the upheaval along the coaching staffs.

“I think everybody underestimates what he’s gone through. Try taking Peyton Manning and in his first five years give him five different play-callers, a couple different head coaches and five different quarterback coaches and see how he does.

“Honestly, it’s hard. I just really feel for the guy. I’m pulling for him because I know how that difficult that is.”

Sideline trivia of the day

Who had the most 100-yard receiving games in a single season? (Answer below)

49ers quick hits

# Gannon was also roommates with Greg Manusky when both were with the Chiefs. He recalled Manusky as a supremely smart player who could fill in at any linebacker position. He said Manusky once stepped in for Donnie Edwards at the last second and recorded 18 tackles.

# I asked coach Mike Singletary today about the progress of Alex Boone, the undrafted free agent from Ohio State who is now trying to earn a promotion from the practice squad. “He just needs to continue to mature and understand what it means to be a tackle at this level,’’ Singletary said. “We’re seeing progress. [Offensive line coach] Chris [Foerster] and I talk about it from time to time, his growth and his maturity. He’s doing a good job, just not ready yet.”

# In the midst of a three-game losing streak, the 49ers have a chance to bounce back against a vulnerable opponent on Sunday. But Singletary dismissed a question about whether the Titans represented a must-win game. “I think every game is pivotal,’’ he said. “The one thing I wouldn’t do is get in front of my team and say, ‘Guys, you know what? This is it.’ No. I think every game we play is going to be pivotal.”

## 50,000 samples of Breathe Right Nasal Strips in 49ers team colors will be handed out at Candlestick on Sunday. Fans wearing them at the game could be selected as the Breathe Right Fan of the Game. The prize includes passes to watch the pregame warm-ups from the sideline.

Injury report of the day

S Reggie Smith (groin) participated in practice and will be a game-day decision.

LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder) participated in practice and is cleared to play.

Link of the day

The Washington Post reports that TV ratings for NFL games this season are up 15 percent from last season and are at a 20-year high for this point in a season

One theory is that consumers are cutting back on more costly leisure activities in favor of watching pro football on TV. Paid attendance in the NFL’s 32 cities was down a little more than 2 percent overall from a year ago through seven weeks of games, the most recent figures available.

Sideline trivia answer

Michael Irvin had a record 11 games with 100 receiving yards in 1995. (Congrats to Ryan Donough of the 49ers media relations department for getting it the fastest.)

Flashback of the day

If you’ll pardon the personal note, but on this day every year I like to look back at the greatest sporting event I ever covered. The World Series? The Super Bowl? Pshaw. That’s nothing compared to this game. It’s the reason I’m celebrating a 10-year wedding anniversary today. Here’s a look back in a Mercury News story from a few years ago.

By Daniel Brown
Mercury News

On Sept. 8, 1990, quarterback Jeff Bridewell threw for 402 yards, UC Davis beat Santa Clara 31-19 and I made the greatest catch in the history of Buck Shaw Stadium.

It happened near the corner of the end zone in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, while waiting to conduct postgame interviews. That was when I said the first words to the woman who would become my wife.

Granted, those words were, ”Bridewell had a good game,” and granted, her response was to turn and walk away, but the moment remains nonetheless historic. It was the first play of what would turn out to be an all-time upset: a girl like that with a guy like me. The Miracle on Eyes.

Susan Slusser was new to the UC Davis beat, a luminous, rising young star for the Sacramento Bee. I was a UCD student working for the campus paper and had all the wisdom of an empty notebook.

Without proper consideration for our professional gap, I attempted chitchat. The woman who would become my wife looked at me half-startled, as if I had just offered to set myself on fire, and walked away.

Love at first slight!

It got better. In the weeks that followed, against St. Mary’s, Chico State and Humboldt State, the Aggies won big, and so did I. By San Francisco State, we were both close to clinching. By Hayward State, it was all wrapped up.

Years later, when it was time to propose, I figured that the ideal plan was to return to what was apparently the most romantic place on earth. Getting her back to the end zone at Buck Shaw Stadium was tricky, since A. the football team disappeared after 1992 and B. there was no reason to stand in an empty field at sunset.

But thanks to a combination of lies and misdirection, the foundation of any good marriage, I persuaded her to walk to the spot that used to be the end zone at Buck Shaw Stadium.

I got down on one knee, as if downing a kickoff.

”Will you marry me?”

She looked half-startled again. Only this time, she didn’t walk away.

”Well, will you?”

”Of course.”

It remains the best interview I’ve ever done.

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Considering how well quarterback Alex Smith operated in brief chances out of the shotgun last week, it’s fair to wonder whether the 49ers might air things out more often.

Is coordinator Jimmy Raye ready to go to the spread offense for large portions of the game?

“As of now, the answer to that question is no,’’ Raye said.

Instead, the 49ers will stick with the same Frank Gore-oriented offense they’ve been planning all along. They’ll just need to do it better.

The 49ers ranks 27th in total yards heading into Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans at Candlestick Park.

Most troubling for the 49ers is how often their drives conk out quickly. Ther posessions result in three-and-outs 40.3 percent of the time, the worst percentage in the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys, in contrast, go three-and-out a league-best 13.2 percent of the time.

Smiths’ recent asension to the starting job, as well as the addition of receiver Michael Crabtree, has helped the 49ers offense show flashes in recent weeks.

But Raye warned that some fans are getting carried away with the brief sample size.

In his weekly session with the media today, Raye dismissed the suggestion of of spreading out the offense.

“If we were going to take this deal and flip it 360 (degrees) and all of a sudden become a shotgun and wide open, and throw the ball 48 or 52 times a game, then we would have to do an awful lot of changing,’’ Raye said.

Even with Smith and Crabtree in the fold?

“People look at what they perceive to be the talent at the extremities and make a judgment that is not founded or even grounded at all,’’ Raye said. “The quarterback has played six quarters (this season) and people are now starting to refer to his history and his offense in college — which is five years removed.”

Raye acknowledged that the recent addition of Crabtree gives him a promising option in the passing game. But he also noted that the rookie still has some learning to do before he can be fully utilized. “We’re still trying to get No. 15 to line up in the right place,’’ Raye said.

Raye said his top concerns is an inability to bang out at least 4 yards on first-down runs. The 49ers expected to be able to grind out tough yards on the ground. Instead, they frequently find themsleves faced with third-and-long situations.

Gore has a trio of long touchdown runs – 64, 79 and 80 yards – but too often the 49ers muster little else. It’s the run-and-done offense. Outside of his three biggies, Gore averages 2.27 yards per carry this season.

Even Raye, in his 33rd NFL season, said he has never seen such a disparity. Two of his previous home-run backs – Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson – managed to get yards even if bottled up. Raye said Campbell could forge ahead with his big body and that Dickerson had the advantage of playing behind a great Rams offensive line.

How do the 49ers fix their problem?

Raye said continuity will be a key factor. He noted that Gore (ankle) was sidelined for essentially four games, that the 49ers have shuffled the right side of their line, that they have switched quarterbacks and that their right tackle (Tony Pashos) and left tackle (Joe Staley) were significantly injured in consecutive weeks.

Still, he thinks the 49ers run-blocking is coming together.

“It’s coming along, but as we start to make progress then we get another hiccup,’’ Raye said. “There is no way to anticipate or expect on the first play of the game that you lose your starting left tackle, so the continuity thing has been slow.

“So, we’re managing and it’s slowly getting better because if we can get (Gore) to the second level, he can go home with the ball. It’s encouraging. It hasn’t been as fast as we’d like, but it’s getting better.”

Sideline trivia of the day

Which quarterback was sacked more times than anyone in NFL history?

49ers quick hits of the day

# Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky indicated that linebacker Patrick Willis will be entrusted to keep a close eye on Titans quarterback Vince Young on Sunday. “Yeah, you try to get your best athletes out on the field and have them matched up on certain guys,’’ he said. “That is what you kind of want to do.” Willis, however, had no desire to play along. Asked about spying Young, he joked: “You want me to just give you the game plan?”

# With Demetric Evans (shoulder) out, defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer will get more playing time. Manusky said that Balmer and Ricky Jean Francois will be in the rotation, with Balmer getting the edge in reps.

# I talked briefly with Francois about being on the active roster for the first time this season. Suffice to say, he’s thrilled. “It means a lot,’’ Francois said. “I’ve been nervous, but guys like Parys Haralson have been telling me, ‘Just relax and go have fun.’’’

Injury update of the day

OUT: CB Nate Clements (shoulder), DE Demetric Evans (shoulder), LT Joe Staley (knee)

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE: DT Aubrayo Franklin (not injury related), LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE: S Reggie Smith (groin)

Excuse of the day

So sorry for the late post today. I was the third car in a three-car smashup on 101 North last night. Everybody walked away from the accident — thank goodness for airbags – but my car has been placed on career-ending injured reserve. Sorting out the details today has not been fun. I’ll post sooner tomorrow.

Sideline trivia answer

John Elway was sacked an NFL-record 516 times. The next closest are Dave Kreig (494) and Randall Cunningham (484). Congratulations to Mike Chasanoff of the 49ers media relations department for being the first with the right answer.

Quote of the day

“Body-frame wise, he is an elite back that has a lot of capabilities to break tackles and hit it fast. We have to bottle him up as much as we can. I doesn’t matter if it is first, second or third down because he is an explosive player.” – Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky on Titans RB Chris Johnson

Transcript of the day

I try to pick my spots with the ol’ cut-and-paste routine. This is one of those spots. Here’s the full monty of the Jimmy Raye press session. He’s got such a different speaking style than the typical coach-ese, so he’s a hard guy to quote in snappy sound bites.
Thanks to the 49ers media relations department for typing up the full session:

JIMMY RAYE

On the amount of confidence that he has in T Barry Sims being inserted into the starting lineup:

“I better have a lot. Barry is a pro, we’ve had previous history together over across the other side of the bay. I’m confident that he’ll go in and give us his best effort and I think that his best effort will be good enough for us to do what we need to do.”

On the progression of the teams run blocking:

“It’s coming along, but as we start to make progress then we get another hiccup, and there is no way to anticipate or expect on the first play of the game that you lose your starting left tackle, so the continuity thing has been slow. So, we’re managing and it’s slowly getting better because if we can get the guy that we’ve got to the second level, he can go home with the ball. It’s encouraging. It hasn’t been as fast as we’d like, but it’s getting better.”

On whether the offense leaves a defender unblocked too many times:

“I don’t think so. I think that it’s hard to judge when you only have 18 rushing attempts. I wouldn’t evaluate the running game on unblocked guys, on 18 rushing attempts when our lead ball carrier got 13 rushes in the game. What happened last Sunday, I was fine with. I thought that we ran for 118 yards or so, but one of those was a break out of 64 yards which [RB Frank Gore] is capable of doing. I wouldn’t put a negative on it based on the number of rushing attempts that they had and the opportunities to get in the game.”

On whether he’s seen a running back with a disparity of yards gained and attempts like RB Frank Gore throughout his career:

“No, I haven’t really. The only two other guys that I recall having a bunch long runs had different styles. [RB] Earl Campbell was a ricochet runner who made long runs, but his yards after contact, where most guys would go down, he made more yards on runs that would’ve been two or three yard runs because of his size. [RB] Eric Dickerson was a homerun hitting guy, but very seldom did he have negative runs on one of the best lines in Ram history. When those two guys come to mind, and Earl because of his ability to gain yards after the contact, he didn’t have as many negatives but a normal guy would have, along with the long ones that he had.”

On whether he feels comfortable with the offensive personnel going into shotgun and spread formations in a game through the latter part of this season:

“No, not at all. We’re the same bunch that four weeks ago, were talking about how we were going to play. We haven’t changed that. If that was in fact true that we were going to take this deal and flip it 360, and all of a sudden become a shotgun and wide open, and throw the ball 48 or 52 times a game, then we would have to do an awful lot of changing. We could mix that, which we have and intend to do. But as a steady diet of that, I think that the confusion that people look at the extremities of what they perceive to be the talent at the extremities and make a judgment that is not founded or even grounded at all. The quarterback has played six quarters to date and people are now starting to refer to his history and his offense in college which is five years removed. Right now, I don’t delight in that prospect. Going forward, if it manifests itself into something that will help us, we will gravitate toward that. But as of now the answer to that question would be no.”

On whether the additions of QB Alex Smith and WR Michael Crabtree to the starting lineup leads him to look at the options of using elements of a spread offense:

“Yes, we would think of that a little bit more. It is difficult because we’re still into certain things – trying to get him to line up in the right place. There are more elements to it than just the physical body of the people that we have. There are a lot things that go into that before we say, ‘okay, we’re going to switch gears and go in another direction.’ We can gravitate toward that in a plan and make due because of what we see out his natural ability. But, nuances and the fine tuning of all that still takes some time in the process and then there is the exposure of the offensive line. When you take away the run threat and you’re trying to block [DE] Dwight Freeney every down and your left tackle is hurt on the first play, you’ve got to reevaluate what you’re trying to do.”

On whether WR Brandon Jones is part of the evolution of his offensive scheme and will see more playing time as the season goes on:

“I don’t know what evolution that you’re referring to, but Brandon is in the mix of guys, from a perimeter standpoint, that we would like to get snaps. As we go forward with the four or five guys that we have, if he brings an added dimension that would help us, if that’s what you’re referring to from the evolution standpoint, then he would be considered in the mix.”

On whether it is easier for the team to run out of 11 or 12 personnel:

“The element of the 12 personnel and the 11 personnel, it doesn’t lock the box in some cases. But there aren’t many defensive coaches we face, where if we eliminate the lead blocker, where we have seven they have eight, so if we go to six they have seven. So you still have the same problem. They are not going to let you outnumber them in the box. They know full-well also, if you go to a spread deal and eliminate the fullback and go to a wide receiver to try to get them into a box-count you can block with the five you have and turn somebody loose. If you go to an empty or spread look, they are going to add one on. So the numbers are the same, except you don’t have a lead blocker and you are in a two-for-one situation where if you don’t have enough hats to account for the people in the box, if you run back and you have five blockers and the ball carrier, they are going to have six. Or if you have seven, they are going to have eight. We are not a stretch zone team, that’s not what our guy does. We are not an outside stretch zone team and run away from the overhang of the last player. We would have to make another transformation in order to do what perceptively everybody thinks we should be doing.”

On whether the offense is executing the way he wants it to:

“In some areas, yes. Basically offensively, what we would like to do is we try to strive and achieve balance to be able to score points. We haven’t done that in any abundance. We have been efficient in certain areas of it. We do a very good job with the stuff we have in the red zone. We haven’t had the consistency in the run or the pass that we would like, but the pass part of it has appeared to be better with the change and the addition of the people we have. So, I guess the answer would be yes and no. But there are some things we do pretty well.”

On what needs to improve in the run game:

“The efficiency of four-yard runs on first down. That coupled with the fact that we get an overloaded box, as was mentioned before, when we are in a 21 personnel group, we see more gap control and more eight-man fronts than we would normally like to see. When we started back then, we were more interested in the quantity of runs rather than quality because we were trying to control the clock and put it together and win in the fourth quarter. Somewhere along the way in the last two and a half weeks, that has kind of gotten lost.”

On the lack of consistency on first down:

“If you want to go back chronologically, part of it, we changed the right side of the line. Part of it, we lose the back for a while. There are all kinds of symptoms as to why it is. The basic answer would be the lack of continuity and familiarity and a consistent approach with the same people who are getting comfortable playing with each other, more than anything I think.”

On whether the pieces are still there to execute his offense:

“It’s not the same pieces, but we have people in place. We lost [T] Tony Pashos, and then we turn around a week later and lose [T] Joe Staley, so there are some differences. I’m not using an alibi or making excuses, but this is different than what we started with over in Arizona six, seven weeks ago.”

On what needs to be changed for the offense to run like he wants:

“I don’t think you can talk to any, maybe other than [Saints coach] Sean Payton, any offensive coach in the league, but you never really hit that mark that you are looking for and become a juggernaut. What we need to do is continue to improve in the areas that we are lacking in the run and the pass and the pass protection. Hopefully, we can get to the place where when we possess the ball, we have a minimum of seven plays every drive. So, you get a first down every time you get the ball before you have to punt the ball. Then, the better you are on third down, the more opportunities you give yourself and the run quantity increases because you have more opportunities. But when you only have 56 snaps in the game, like we did last week, it is kind of difficult.”

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Now, Chris Johnson gets his shot.

The Tennessee Titans tailback is coming off a franchise-record 228 rushing yards, including touchdown runs of 52 and 89 yards.

By now, the 49ers are accustomed to the challenge. They have faced three of the NFL’s top-10 rushers this season.

Next up: No. 1.

Johnson averages 6.92 yards per carry, the highest total by an NFL rushing leader through Week 8 since 1970.

“He’s a great running back,’’ 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown said. “He’s got speed. He’s a strong guy.

“You look at the film and it’s not one guy bringing him down. We have to gang tackle him as a collective group and rally to the ball.”

Stopping the run is the 49ers’ strength. They rank second in the NFL by allowing just 84.9 yards per game. (The defending Super Bowl champion Steelers are first at 76.6).

The 49ers lead the league in holding opponents to 3.24 yards per carry.

“To have played teams like Atlanta and St. Louis and Minnesota and be where they are against the run is impressive,’’ Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. “That’s not a misleading statistic. They’re very sound and they play well.”

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Alex Smith and Vince Young crossed paths at an NFL function a few years ago. Smith gave Young a pep talk.

Then Young turned around did the same for Smith.

“I’m pretty sure he knows what I was going through,’’ Young said.

The starting quarterbacks have endured the same frustrating career path. Both were highly drafted players who wound up as bench warmers.

Heck, even their lifetime totals are identical: Smith and Young each have thrown exactly 23 touchdown passes and 33 interceptions.

And when they square off Sunday at Candlestick Park, each is in the process of a career rebirth.

Smith had his first start since 2007 for the 49ers’ last week; Young started for the Titans for the first time since 2008.

On a conference call with Bay Area reporters this morning, Young recounted some of his career ups and downs.

A year ago, he yielded the job to Kerry Collins, who started the final 15 games and led the Titans to the NFL’s best record.

Young, the third overall pick in 2006, just watched. What did he learn from his view on the pine?

“Patience,” Young said. “Let the game come to you. Don’t force it and do whatever it takes. If the defense says this or says that, just stay humble and patient and let the game come to you. Make the right reads and get the ball to the players that we have and let them take care of their responsibilities, as well”

So when Young got the car keys back last week, he didn’t try to force anything. He completed 15 of 18 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in a 30-13 victory over Jacksonville.

He also had a little help. Tailback Chris Johnson rushed for a franchise record 228 yards on 24 carries, including touchdown runs of 52 and 89 yards. He was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Week.

Transaction of the day

The 49ers signed tackle Kirk Barton to the practice squad. Barton, listed at 6-6, 300, was released by the Lions during training camp.

The former Ohio State lineman was originally a seventh-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 2008. He has also been in the Dolphins and Bengals organizations.

The 49ers need depth after injuries to Tony Pashos (shoulder) and Joe Staley (knee) in consecutive weeks.

49ers quick hits of the day

# Newly signed offensive lineman Chris Patrick and defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois are in line to be on the active roster Sunday. Patrick, signed off the Chiefs practice squad, will serve as the back-up to both tackle spots. Jean Francios, a seventh-round pick from LSU, will be on the active roster for the first time this season.

# Additionally, the 49ers think safety Reggie Smith (groin) has a chance to be healthy enough to play.

# Mike Singletary limited his punt returner choice to two players, saying that Arnaz Battle and Brandon Jones are both in the mix against the Titans. Singletary called his decision “a day-to-day thing.”

# Linebacker Ahmad Brooks, limited to special teams duty against the Colts, will have a more expanded role against Tennessee. “He’ll see more time on third downs,’’ Singletary said. “He has to. He’s a talented guy. He’s earned the right to play more.”

# Alex Smith is eager to be playing at home again. “It’ll be nice not to deal with the crowd noise, that’s for sure,’’ he said. “I can cave my voice.’

# Barry Sims, who will fill in for Joe Staley (knee) as the starting left tackle, goes from one stupendous challenge to the next. He did a nice job against Colts pass rusher Dwight Freeney. Now, he takes on two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Vanden Bosch.

“Vanden Bosch is a very high-effort guy. He’s like Justin Smith where the initial block isn’t going to be enough,’’ Sims said. “You’re going to have to continue to go after him on every play until the whistle.”

Former Longhorns lock horns

Young is excited about facing his old Texas teammate. Tarell Brown was a cornerback on the Longhorns national title team. Young and Brown were friends.

“I can’t wait to see his big-head self,’’ the quarterback said.

Big head?

“Yeah, I see he cut his hair off, so it makes his head even bigger,’’ Young said.

Brown started last week against the Colts and will hold down the starting job for good now that Nate Clements is out 6-8 weeks with a shoulder injury. During his senior year with Young and the Longhorns, Brown did not allow any touchdown catches. His main pass coverage assignments had just three catches for longer than 20 yards during his 11 starts.

“He’s a speedy, physical guy. He comes up and makes tackles,’’ Young said. “He’s a very aggressive DB. He’s a DB that can come up and make plays. And if he gets his hands on the ball, he’ll score a touchdown.

“I have much respect for Tarell Brown. He knows that. He knows that if I get a chance to throw the ball over there, he knows I’ll throw a couple at him.”

Sideline trivia of the day

Among active passers, Brett Favre has the most passing yards and Peyton Manning ranks second. Who ranks third?

(Answer below)

Flashback of the day

Shortly after being hired as a 49ers secondary coach in 1992, Jeff Fisher was looking at tape to study up on his new players. He was blown away by the talent.

Fisher turned to one of his fellow assistants.

“With just the defensive personnel alone, we have a chance to win 10 or 11 games,’’ he said.

The assistant glared.

“Don’t say that too loud,’’ he told Fisher. “The expectation here is to win them all.”

Lessons like that were part of the reason Fisher took the 49ers job to begin with. He had offers from other places but wanted to find out what made the 49ers of that era so special.

“That was the organization in the National Football League, with the model that Bill Walsh had put in place,’’ Fisher said. “Just to have the experience to be a part of it was an honor.”

A break in the schedule?

After a difficult stretch, the 49ers finally get a struggling opponent heading into Candlestick Park. The Titans (1-6) have looked like a shell of the team that made the playoffs a year ago.

The defense, especially, has hit the skids. The Titans rank 31st in yards allowed and are last in the NFL against the pass. Opponents are throwing for 282.4 yards per game against them.

The 49ers’ highest passing total all season was 251 yards against Houston. But Fisher said his defense has been impressed with the way the 49ers offense perked up with Alex Smith at the helm.

“He has got the arm strength to make all the throws,’’ he said. “When he came in, he was accurate, he was poised, he used the snap count, he drew them offsides, he was on-time and he made plays. The offense was such that it gave him a chance.

“They’ve done a good job of very quietly surrounding the quarterback with good players.”

Chris Johnson vs. 49ers rushing defense

The Titans offense ranks second in the NFL with 162.3 yards per game.
That sets up a good matchup against a 49ers defense that ranks second in the NFL by allowing just 84.9 yards per game. The Titans boast Chris Johnson, but the 49ers have already curtailed Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson and Michael Turner.

“To have played teams like Atlanta and St. Louis and Minnesota and be where they are against the run is impressive,’’ Fisher said. “That’s not a misleading statistic. They’re very sound and they play well.”

Sideline trivia answer

Titans backup quarterback Kerry Collins ranks third among active quarterbacks with 38,464 passing yards.

Link of the day

There are new public transportation options available for fans heading to Candlestick Park this weekend. Click here.

Quote of the day

“Mike (Singletary) was all about business. I’ll never forget swinging by his room early in camp. Every single formation, every motion, every variation was on cards to taped to his wall in the ceiling. That’s how important football was to him.” – Jeff Fisher, a former seventh-round pick who was in Singletary’s rookie draft class in 1981.

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To make room on the roster, the team waived seldom-used receiver Micheal Spurlock.

The move came a day after the 49ers announced that cornerback Nate Clements would be sidelined six to eight weeks with a fractured scapula.

Tarell Brown, who started against the Colts last week, will continue to line up at left corner opposite Shawntae Spencer.

Smith (5-11, 191) gives the 49ers an experienced backup. He played in 71 games, including five starts. With the Lions, Smith had 118 tackles, four interceptions, a sack, a forced fumble and a touchdown.

A former standout at McNeese State, he was the Lions third-round draft pick in 2004. Detroit released him Detroit at the end of training camp.

Spurlock, meanwhile, played only sparingly during his brief 49ers career. On a roster crowded with seven receivers, Spurlock’s lone contribution on offense this season was a 3-yard carry out of the wildcat formation in Week 2. He was on the game-day roster only once over the 49ers’ past four games.

In one other transaction, the 49ers released tight end Carson Butler from their practice squad.

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A first-round draft pick in 1981, Lott went on to win four Super Bowls and reach the Pro Bowl 10 times. He also played for the Raiders (1991-92) and Jets (1993-94).

In announcing Lott’s selection, the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame saluted his charity work since leaving the NFL.

Lott’s non-profit organization, All-Stars Helping Kids, has raised more than $20 million for child-oriented causes. As Lott told me during a 2008 interview, ”People think that once you stop playing sports, you retire from everything. But it’s just the beginning of life.”

These are Lott’s fellow Hall-of-Fame inductees for the Class of 2009:

– Ron Calcagno: accomplished Santa Clara University athlete and legendary St. Francis High School football coach

– Sheryl Johnson: Three-time Olympian and respected Stanford University coach

– Bob Murphy: Standout Stanford pitcher and renowned Stanford broadcaster

The Nov. 11 event at HP Pavilion begins with a reception followed by dinner and induction ceremony. Dinner tickets begin at $200 each and sponsorship packages are available ranging from $2,500 to $15,000. For information and to purchase tickets (408) 288-2936.

The event benefits Special Olympics Northern California and high school sports programs.

This year’s class gives the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame a total of 71 inductees. The South Bay sports figures are honored with a bronze plaque permanently installed on the concourse at HP Pavilion.

Here is the Hall’s official bio of Lott:

An NFL Hall of Famer, he embodied the heart and soul of a champion on the football field and exemplifies true philanthropy off the field.

For nearly 20 years, Lott has given back to the community through his non-profit organization, All Stars Helping Kids, which supports disadvantaged youth in the bay area and throughout the nation. His passion for the South Bay community has been unwavering and shares that sentiment in his own words, “Sports are never forever, but serving others is.”

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Neither Clements (broken scapula) nor Staley (sprained knee) will be put on injured reserve.

Tests on Monday at Stanford Hospital revealed that Staley sustained sprains to the MCL and PCL of his right knee. The 49ers were relieved to learn that it was not a season-ending ACL injury.

Based on the six-week timetable, both players could be back for the Dec. 14 game on Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals.

Coach Mike Singletary addressed the injuries during his press conference today. Click here for a full transcript.

Additionally, the 49ers announced that defensive tackle Demetric Evans suffered an AC sprain in his left shoulder and will be sidelined three weeks.

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Coach Mike Singletary announced today that the cornerback would not go in the injured reserve list.

“We will not do that because, Lord’s will, if we are in the playoffs I want him to play,’’ Singletary said. “He has earned the right to play.”

Clements sustained a fractured scapula during an 18-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Singletary hoped to have a fuller prognosis later Monday. He said the same thing about left tackle Joe Staley (sprained knee) and defensive tackle Demetric Evans (sprained shoulder).

As for the game itself, Singletary said he fully supports offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, whose play calling came under scrutiny after the 49ers went scoreless in the second half against the Colts.

“I 150-percent back what he’s doing, absolutely,’’ Singletary said. “There’s not one iota that I’m wavering here or there, whatever.”

In reviewing the game film, Singletary saw for the first time what Josh Morgan did in celebrating Vernon Davis’ touchdown in the end zone. As Davis danced, Morgan ran over and pretended to shoot photos.

The 15-yard penalty opened the door for the Colts to kick a field goal at the end of the first half.

“That’s just not very smart. So that’s on us, That’s on me,’’ Singletary said. “Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t see. I probably would have overreacted or something. That is just something we can’t do.

“Yesterday was a classic case of an immature team shooting themselves in the foot.”

I took the slow boat back from Indianapolis, so I was unable to attend Singletary’s 11:45 a.m. session. (My teammate Mark Emmons was on the scene.)

So here is the full-monty transcript provided by the team’s media relations department.

Here’s what Singletary said:

Opening statements:

“Hello ladies and gentlemen. To start with, we have [T] Joe Staley, sprained knee. We will know more about that later on today. [CB] Nate Clements, fractured scapula. We will have to learn more about that toward the end of the day. [DT] Demetric Evans, that is a shoulder, a sprained shoulder. We will see more about that as well as we go on today. Anything other than that - obviously it was a tough game. We felt that was a game we had prepared to go on the road in a tough environment and come away with, obviously did not. It is more the things we did than the things they did, which is what we talked about. We had to execute. There were too many things that happened during the game. The penalties, you can’t do that on the road. It’s just not being smart. The thing with [WR] Josh [Morgan] in the end zone, I didn’t know about. I saw the touchdown, I saw [TE] Vernon [Davis] doing something and I walked and turned and started talking about something else. Next thing I knew there was a penalty and I said, ‘Wait a minute, you have to be kidding me.’ But, I didn’t see all the others taking pictures and all that. That’s just not very smart. So that’s on us, that’s on me. Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t see, I probably would have overreacted or something. That is just something we can’t do. Yesterday was a classic case of an immature team shooting themselves in the foot. We are a good football team, it is those games – and we have had two for sure, three, but I really don’t count that last week – it is just one of those things when you are playing those kinds of games, those teams have experience, those teams know where they are going, they know exactly what the heck they are doing and they are executing. We have to get to that point and we will. We will because where we want to go, we have to. It is a simple as that. I will open it up for questions.”

On whether his familiarity with broken scapulas helps him guess how long Clements will be out:

“You know what, the only thing I can say about that is everybody is different in their healing process. [WR] Brandon Jones actually came back a little quicker. He came back maybe in six weeks, something like that. He was probably really ready in five. Everybody is different, everybody heals different. The crack could be one degree or another and I really don’t know enough about it to answer that question intelligently, so I am going to stay away from it. I don’t know. We will just have to wait and see.”

On whether he still expects to make the playoffs:

“Absolutely.”

On how much it would help if Clements is around while he is injured:

“We will not put him on IR. We will not do that because, Lord’s will, if we are in the playoffs I want him to play. He has earned the right to play.”

On whether CB Tarell Brown is ready to become a starter:

“Oh yeah, he is ready. He is ready.”

On whether he thinks he should have opened up the playbook more:

“Obviously when you look at the game, or when you look at any game, and I’m being very honest about it, I’m not trying to be funny, you can go back and say, “Maybe we should have done this, maybe we should have done that.’ But when we looked at our game plan going into the game, once again there were some things execution-wise that did not take place and didn’t happen. When you are dealing with a quarterback making the first start of the season, when you are dealing with a wide out that is going to be a great wide out at some point in time that maybe every now and then has a mishap here and there, when you are dealing with an offensive line still trying to gain continuity, that whole thing, when you are dealing with a new coordinator – we are still coming together. It’s not quite halfway through the season yet, but hopefully here real soon, those things, we will get a handle on it. We are not there yet, obviously. You saw it yesterday. It is too easy to sit back and say, ‘Well man, the answer was: just go ahead and put him in the spread and let him go.’ It’s not as simple as that. I’m sure people are talking and I’m sure everybody has a bit of advice here and there. But at the end of the day, I think the most important thing is we know where we want to go, we know what we have to do in order to get there and I know yesterday was frustrating. It is frustrating for us as coaches. It is frustrating because the execution just was not there. When you start looking, not only was the execution not there, some of the little penalties, some of the little setbacks here and there, it’s a frustrating thing. You think it is frustrating for you to watch? Try being a coach and coaching it. It is very, very frustrating. But at the same time, I am very confident. Yesterday’s game, okay, we lost a game. But at the same time we know why we lost the game. We’re not sitting here talking about guys moping and complaining. We don’t have those issues. We are not complaining about guys not hustling, not giving 100-percent effort. We don’t have those kind of problems. We have problems, not problems, issues, where guys want to do it and they want to be there, but it takes time. It takes a little bit of time when you have that quarterback and you put him in there for the first time. Continuity means something and we just have to get there.”

On the criticism that offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye is getting and whether he supports him:

“I 150-percent back what he’s doing, absolutely. There’s not one iota that I’m wavering here or there, whatever. Jimmy knows there are some things going forward that he has to learn about our players, what they can and cannot do. At the same time, look at our plan in terms of, ‘This is who we are as an offense.’ It’s a work in progress and we just need to keep moving forward, keep getting there. I do believe that we got better yesterday in certain areas. I think when our players look at the film, they will be very frustrated themselves because it is everything about what we did. The reason that we didn’t win that game was because the San Francisco 49ers, we shot ourselves in the foot. It had very little to do with the Indianapolis Colts. And when our team, being as young as they are, when they look at that, they are going to be frustrated walking away from it and come back and be man enough and be the team that has character enough to say, ‘Okay, that’s enough of that. At some point in time you just get, ‘Okay, that’s enough of that, let’s go. Enough of this, enough of that, let’s go.’ Hopefully, we are at that point right now, where we are ready to take that step and eliminate the foolish plays. Hopefully we are ready to step into the next realm. If we want to be a playoff team, which we do, if we want to be that team, then okay, it’s on us. It’s not the other team. It’s us, so we have to make that decision to make sure that we do everything that we can as players and coaches to say that’s it, let’s go, let’s play the game, let’s execute, let’s win.”

On whether they talked about running spread formations in the second half more and why they didn’t use it:

“I think there were a number of reasons. The first reason is when you go into a game with a game plan and I think obviously in two minute situations, some teams have a two-minute situation where it’s a great two minutes whether it be [QB] Brett Favre, whether it be [QB] Peyton Manning or however the thing goes, but at the same time it’s the amount of exposure that the coaches have had to [QB] Alex Smith. It’s the amount of exposure that Alex Smith has had to the offense, leading the offense. You don’t want to put him in a situation where, ‘Okay, is Alex really ready to do that?’ You take a step back. ‘Is our offensive line really ready to do that?’ Once you do that then there are some things that are not happening, which you say, ‘Well, maybe it’s the core of your offense.’ I think going forward, there’s a trust issue there and there’s also using wisdom and making sure that if we are going to put them in that situation, why are we putting them in that situation, when do we put them in that situation and is Alex really ready for that? Do we do something to hurt him? That’s not something that I want to do. I think Alex, what he’s doing right now, he’s taken advantage of some opportunities that are there and we are finding out more and more, what routes he throws really well, what he feels really comfortable with. I think as we go along here in the next week or two, it gives us a better idea, when we see in practice, what he can and cannot do, what he really feels comfortable with. Sometimes a guy looks comfortable doing something and it looks so easy, but at the same time, we just want to make sure that this time around, we want to do everything that we can to put Alex in the best situation to be successful because it looks like he is developing very quickly into that quarterback that can be a special quarterback. We are excited about that. We are excited about what we are seeing, but at the same time, don’t want to lose our minds. At the same time, we don’t want to get greedy, but we want to make sure that he is playing his best football and we want to put him in the best situation to do that.”

On his evaluation of Smith’s game based on the film:

“I thought Alex did very well. I was very pleased to see him make some throws. I was very excited and anticipated this game for him because I knew the rush was going to be coming at him. I knew that it was just a situation where he wasn’t going to sit back there and be comfortable and he got outside of the pocket a few times and he made some good decisions, made some really nice throws. Outside throws, up the field throws, post throws, I thought he made all the throws that he needed to make and he just needed to be more consistent. I thought he handled himself very well in pressure situations and I thought he did a good job.”

On whether he was surprised at how much Indianapolis targeted [CB] Shawntae Spencer:

“Not really. I think in this situation, when I look at Shawntae, No. 85 [WR Pierre Garcon] was a guy that they’ve been going to more and more, becoming more and more a part of their offense and you look at the guy on the other side, [WR] Reggie Wayne. Reggie Wayne’s been hurt a bit. He didn’t practice a whole lot last week. So I think you are going to go towards the healthy guy.”

On whether the next two home games are as must-win as they get:

“In my mind, every game is a must-win. Obviously, we haven’t done that, but every game is a must-win because in the final analysis, it’s very frustrating to have lost the four games that we have, but I don’t look at, ‘Well, the next two games, we’ve got to…’ No, I don’t look at it like that because when you do the math, it just comes down to winning the games that we need to win in order to win the division, that’s our first goal. I’m not going to lose my mind and say, ‘If we lose the next two, we’re done. We might as well pack it up and go home.’ I’m not going to say that. I don’t anticipate losing the next two. What I anticipate is us staying where we are and staying together and continuing to move forward, getting better each week. We didn’t win yesterday, but I know we did get better. For me, it’s just very important to stay focused on the goals. For us, ‘Oh, man we’ve got to win this game. Don’t start getting tight.’ I don’t do that. Just focus on this game that we have this week, the Titans. I’m not going to go into all the other stuff. We have the Titans coming in here this week. Let’s go out and do the very best that we can to win the game.”

On whether he does the math to determine how many wins this team needs to win the division:

“I do a lot of math on my own when I am sitting in my office, but I’m not going to go in there to my team, to a bunch of young guys that haven’t been to the playoffs in seven years and say, ‘Guys we have to get these next two or we are done. These are must-win games.’ No. No. I know what we have to do, the coaches know what we have to do, but to a young team, this is all they need to look at: the Titans. Let’s look at that. Let’s take where we have been so far and sketch it out here to help them understand exactly where we are and the opportunity they have at hand. That is all they need to focus on. Guys, let’s win this one, and we will move on from there. And as we move along the road and we mature from there, our guys can continue to see some of those things we talk about come to pass, which they have. As you start to see those things we can talk more of a big picture. But right now, we just have to be focused on the Titans as a team.”

On whether the offensive line got better against the Colts:

“I thought our offensive line did better, particularly the right side. I thought the right side of the offensive line did a much better job communicating. They practiced that way this week and I thought it showed in the game against a defensive line that was coming. I thought that [RT Adam] Snyder and [RG] Chilo Rachal did a good job.”

On whether or not the team might be geared more toward becoming a passing offense:

“I look at it this way, when I say that I want to be a physical team I want to be a physical team running the ball and I want to be a physical team throwing the ball. I want our receivers to be knocking the snot out of somebody. I want our offensive linemen running down the field hitting somebody. To me, that’s physical. I have always said, throwing the ball last year, when [former 49ers offensive coordinator] Mike Martz was here I’m okay with throwing the ball as long as we’re not throwing it to the other team, I’m okay with that, but it has to go to our guys and we have the confidence in our quarterback, and our quarterback has confidence in our offensive line, and has confidence in a relationship with the receivers to throw that ball, I don’t care about that. I care about winning, that’s important to me. I’m not tied up into ‘well, I’m this,’ no, I’m not. I want to do whatever we have to do to win and that’s what I’m looking for everyday. So that’s where I’m at with that.”

On whether he is disturbed about the progression of the running game at this time:

“No, I’m not disturbed. I think that rather than coming out of that game being disturbed about that running game, I’m really encouraged by the quarterbacks play and his decision-making, I’m encouraged by our offensive line and the ability to lose probably our best offensive lineman and still compete and do a good job against a very effective pass rush. I’m encouraged that our receivers did a pretty decent job catching the football. I’m encouraged that our defense, even though we didn’t get off consistently on third downs, I’m encouraged that our defense played pretty decent in holding a quarterback that will probably maybe in the running, if you check on it, for the MVP of the year. I’m encouraged that four times that [Colts quarterback Peyton Manning] gets into the red zone, he’s not scoring a touchdown. I’m encouraged about a number of things coming out of yesterday, but once again I want you to make sure that you understand that I am not in any form or fashion talking about moral victories. You asked me a question and I’m just answering that question. I don’t get discouraged. The only thing that I’m discouraged about yesterday – more frustrated than discouraged, is some of the little silly things that we did on our behalf to shoot ourselves in the foot that inhibited our chances of winning a football game on the road against a good football team.”

On whether WR Isaac Bruce is one of the best eleven players on the field at this stage in his career:

“I will put it this way: Right now, Isaac Bruce is one of the guys that we count on to win. As far getting into is he one of the best eleven and all of those things, I’m going to say that he gives us a chance to win and in certain situations he is one of the best eleven on the field, and in other situations he isn’t. That goes for a number of our receivers and I think that we just have to continue to evaluate our team and our talent and this team right now is going through some changes. You’re seeing new guys step up and young guys stepping up and some other guys stepping back and it’s going to continue to be that way. I believe in the best eleven guys on the field and whoever that is, that’s who is going to be out there.”

On LB Patrick Willis’ play improving without having the helmet radio:

“Absolutely, I think that if you ask him that I’m not quite sure what he would say, but I think that it certainly allows him to go out there and play and handle what’s in front of him rather than trying to get the calls behind him, particularly in a game like that when the quarterback goes down the field so much. Little details and little things like that you have to have that can make tremendous difference in the game so I think it freed him up a bit.”

On how S Dashon Goldson did with the use of the radio helmet:

“I thought that he did fine. For the most part, I thought that he did fine.”

On whether CB Nate Clements was injured on the punt return:

“He did, I did talk to him last night about that, yes.”

On how the offensive line will be affected with the absence of T Joe Staley:

“Obviously, we’re going to miss Joe Staley, but in terms of how it is going to affect our offensive line, which in essence is how it is going to affect our offense, you find a way to win. You find a way to work around it. But obviously he will be missed because we think a lot about Joe Staley. I’m hoping he will be back real quick because he helps us tremendously. But at the same time, I know our offense will continue to get better and we just have to continue to work around it and do whatever we have to do.”

On the progression of [WR] Michael Crabtree:

“Crabtree right now, I think he is finding that not being in training camp, he can understand now some of those things. He has such an incredible desire to do great, but at the same time his body is still trying to catch up, but he is getting there. He is a work in progress. Every now and then something comes up, there is maybe one play a game, or something like that, where he is a little bit off here and there and uncertain. But overall, I think he has been tremendous overall.”

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INDIANAPOLIS – For a team that has adopted “Don’t Tell Me Show Me” as a motto, the 49ers are relying more on words than actions these days.

They lost for third consecutive time Sunday, this time 18-14 to the Indianapolis Colts.

But just as he did after a narrow loss to the Vikings earlier this season, Coach Mike Singletary responded to the defeat by vowing that the 49ers would reach the postseason.

“We’re going to win enough football games to go to the playoffs,’’ Singletary said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Even after another gut-wrenching loss that featured potentially long-term injuries to left tackle Joe Staley (sprained knee) and cornerback Nate Clements (fractured scapula), the locker room echoed their coach’s optimism.

“Oh, absolutely,’’ linebacker Takeo Spikes said. “I still think we’re going to the playoffs. I know we’re going to the playoffs. … We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be for a reason.”

The calendar, however, is running out of patience. Only one previous 49ers team started the season 3-4 and still made the playoffs. The 1985 sqad – the defending Super Bowl champions – rallied to finish 10-6 and capture a wild-card spot.

The 49ers are one game back in the division, thanks to Arizona’s surprising loss to Carolina. For the 49ers to get things going, they need to avoid the lapses that cost them an upset Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts (7-0) ran their regular-season winning streak to 16 games behind quarterback Peyton Manning, who threw for 347 yards after wriggling free from a slow start.

Manning got an assist from running back Joseph Addai, who threw the Colts’ only touchdown pass. Addai, a former quarterback at Sharpstown High (Texas) hit Reggie Wayne with a pretty left-handed toss for a 22-yard score with 14:53 to play, giving Indianapolis its first and only lead of the game.

Cornerback Shawntae Spencer, who admitted he got fooled on the halfback option pass, said he watched hours of Colts game film and never once saw that play . He approached Wayne after the game and asked about the trickery.

“Reggie said they hadn’t run that play in nine years,’’ Spencer said.

Wayne tied his career-high with 12 receptions. But the 49ers spent most of the early game holding the Colts in check.

Frank Gore ignited the 49ers’ long-shot hopes with a 64-yard run that gave them a 7-0 lead with 11:16 to play in the first quarter.

It was Gore’s third touchdown run this season of at least 60 yards. But, as has been the case other times this season, the 49ers rushing game didn’t do much beyond the big outburst.

It’s the run-and-done offense.

“We just have to learn how to finish,’’ Gore said.

The 49ers unleashed one other brief flurry of offense, this time through the air. Starting a drive with 1:44 left in the half, the 49ers tore through a Colts defense that ranked sixth in the NFL against the pass.

Alex Smith, in his first start since Nov. 12, 2007, opened that drive with successive passes to Michael Crabtree (27 yards), Isaac Bruce (12) and Vernon Davis (10).

Smith ultimately finished the march with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Davis, the fourth touchdown connection for those two over the 49ers’ past six quarters.

After this one, Davis gyrated in the end zone as teammate Josh Morgan swooped over and pretended to snap a photo. This particular picture was worth 15 yards: The referees threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“They called it on me?” Morgan said in the locker room later. “I didn’t think that was excessive. That’s what I do after all of Vernon’s touchdowns.”

Singletary said: “I did not see the guys do anything outlandish. I do not understand why they would call that.”

The Colts exploited the 15-yard penalty, getting a Matt Stover field goal with 0:01 to play to cut the 49ers’ halftime lead to 14-9.

Morgan, meanwhile, never got another chance to celebrate.

After racking up 208 yards of offense before halftime, the 49ers got only 87 more during their scoreless second half. Gore had four rushes for 11 yards over the final two quarters.

The 49ers’ best late chance came directly after the Wayne touchdown catch. Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye called passing plays six of the 49ers’ first eight plays of the fourth quarter, and Smith got the team to a third-and-7 from the Indianapolis 30.

Then, trouble. Smith was hit with a delay-of-game penalty, moving the team back 5 yards.

On the next play, Robert Mathis got past right tackle Adam Snyder, buried Smith for an 8-yard sack and knocked the 49ers out of field-goal range.

“That was huge,’’ Colts Coach Jim Caldwell said. “We may not have been perfect, but we found a way to win.”

Now, the 49ers need to find their own formula. After a brutal stretch, they reached a soft patch in their schedule. Three of their next four are home games against teams with a losing record.

When they face the Titans on Sunday at Candlestick, the 49ers will be looking for their first win since Oct. 4.

And, they’ll be looking to erase the pain of another close call against a future Hall of Fame quarterback. They have lost to Manning and Brett Favre this season by a combined seven points.

“Any missed opportunity in a game like this going to come back and bite you in the end,’’ Singletary said. “Obviously, it did.”

# # #

Further medical tests Monday could decide the fate cornerback Nate Clements and left tackle Joe Staley.

Clements sustained a fractured right scapula against the Colts on Sunday. The 49ers withheld announcing whether Clements was finished for the season, although a similar injury sent tackle Tony Pashos to the injured-reserve list a week ago.

Clements’ injury came late in the first half, although the 49ers did not reveal whether the injury came on a punt return. Clements, serving as a returner for the first time this season, had four punt returns for 31 yards.

He did not start on defense, as the 49ers went with Tarell Brown. Coach Mike Singletary said that Brown’s place in the starting lineup was supposed to be a one-week experiment based on the Colts’ personnel.

“We were going on basic matchups,’’ Singletary said.

Now, Brown could wind up the starter for good. Against the Colts, he credited with two tackles and a quarterback hurry.

Staley, the 49ers’ best offensive lineman, sprained a right knee on the first play from scrimmage. He walked off the field under his own power and was up and around during the 49ers’ post-game locker room scene.

Staley will undergo and MRI exam in the Bay Area on Monday.

He was replaced in the lineup Sunday by Barry Sims, who performed admirably against Dwight Freeney. The Colts’ star defensive end had two tackles and registered a sack for the eighth consecutive game.

“That’s hard. Joe Staley is a tough guy to replace,’’ quarterback Alex Smith said. “Barry came in and competed and did a great job after not getting reps all week.”

Clements has been sidelined only once since 2002; Staley has never missed a game in his 39-game NFL career.

# # #

Gore registered his third touchdown run this season of at least 60 yards. No NFL player had done that since 2003 (Jamal Lewis, Ahman Green) and no 49ers player has done it since 1998 (Garrison Hearst, 96, 71 and 70).

# # #

Safety Michael Lewis played for the first time since sustaining his third concussion of the season on Oct. 11. Lewis had five tackles and forced a fumble from Colts tight end Dallas Clark.

# # #

Peyton Manning had been sacked only twice all season – and only once since Week 2 – before the 49ers got to him three times. Aubrayo Franklin, Isaac Sopoanga and Ray McDonald each got a sack against a quarterback who had gone 178 passes without one.

“We had a great game plan,’’ McDonald said. “We knew we could get to him up front.”

It marked the first time Manning was sacked three times in a game since Dec. 16, 2007, at Oakland.

# # #

Rookie WR Michael Crabtree led the 49ers in receptions and receiving yards.

“Every time the ball came my way, I was trying to make the most of the moment,’’ he said.

Crabtree also lost his first career fumble, a ball that came loose while he was trying to get extra yards on a 2-yard catch in the third quarter.

# # #

With his 32nd catch this season, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis surpassed his full-season total of 31 a year ago. Davis’ career high is 52 catches in 2007.

# # #

When running back Joseph Addai hit Reggie Wayne with a 22-yard pass, it marked only the second non-Peyton Manning touchdown catch for Wayne. His other came from backup quarterback Jim Sorgi.

# # #

The 49ers held the opponent to fewer than 100 rushing yard for the sixth time in seven games this season.

# # #

Among the players honored in the stadium’s ring of honor is Stanford coach Jim Harbaurgh, a Colts quarterback from 1994-97.

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