After handling the Cleveland Browns at Candlestick Park, the Niners will play the Washington Redskins this Sunday in our nation’s capital. The 49ers looked great against the Browns last week by going up 17-3 at halftime. The second half was not as wonderful score wise, but the Bay Area team were able to hold on and keep their momentum heading into the second half of the season. Among the receivers, Michael Crabtree came out on top with 5 catches for 54 yards and one touchdown. However, a lot of these yards came on one reception of 41 yards which was his longest gain.

Colt McCoy had better stats than Alex Smith, but McCoy also had an interception. The interception came in the third quarter when McCoy threw an errant, senseless pass into double coverage in the end zone just as the Browns were looking set for a comeback.

As for the Niners, they have a chance to win six in a row if they beat the 3-4 Redskins this Sunday. This would be the first time that they would have won six games in a row since the days of Steve Young as quarterback when in 1997 they had a single-season franchise-best 11-game run. After a promising early season run, the Redskins have had three straight losses heading into the game against the Niners.

After going 8 years straight without a winning record or berth in the playoffs, the San Francisco 49ers have given Bay Area football fans a lot of joy this season. There is much to hope for and looking at their season schedule, I would think they would ultimately be challenging the Green Bay Packers for the coveted home field advantage all the way through the NFC playoffs.

Next week I will give you my game-by-game predictions for the second half of the 2011 season!