The San Francisco 49ers, members of the NFC West, have not been able to advance to the playoffs in the NFL over the past eight seasons. This year, history repeats itself once again as the team holds a record of five wins and ten defeats. The 49ers saw their chances of progressing to the postseason dissipate after hitting third place in the division.

San Francisco had its moments of glory during the eighties, when the team won four Super Bowl championships (1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989). In 1994 he repeated the title after winning 49-26 against the San Diego Chargers. Thereafter San Francisco won some conference championships and participated in several divisional playoffs, and yet has not made it into the postseason since 2002.

In 2009 San Francisco finished in second place in the division with eight wins and eight losses, surpassed by Arizona that with 10 wins and 6 losses won the division. In 2010 under the leadership of Mike Singletary, the 49ers tried to overcome the poor performance of their recent past, but had a difficult beginning this season.

The 49ers started the 2010/11 with a streak of five consecutive defeats. San Francisco saw their first win until the sixth week, when they won 17-9 against Oakland. The joy was short-lived for San Francisco, as Carolina beat them 23-20 the following week.

The 49ers linked two consecutive victories, but during the eleventh week they were beaten 21-0 by Tampa Bay. Thereafter, San Francisco achieved two wins and three defeats, including the latest 25-17 against St Louis.

In the latter meeting St Louis went ahead 9-0 in the first quarter after scoring a field goal and a safety. San Francisco stands out in the second quarter with two spectacular plays, a punt return for 78 yards by Ted Ginn Jr. and a 60-yard touchdown to Michael Cabtree. The Rams scored another field goal and the period ended 14-12 for the visitors.

The Rams tried to get back in the battle during the third quarter and completed a 30-yard field goal by Josh Brown for 15-14. St Louis started attacking in the last quarter with a touchdown (22-14). The visiting team tried to push in the offensive end but could only score a field goal (22-17). The locals finally took a 25-17 victory with a third field goal.

This result led San Francisco to the third place in the NFC West, and placed the team in a more complicated situation than the previous year. Because of this the 49ers took the decision to fire coach Mike Singletary.

Singletary took over San Francisco during the 2008 season when he replaced Mike Nolan: That season ended 5-4. In 2009, Singletary only full season so far, the team finished with an 8-8 record for the season. The 49ers coach was dismissed from his post after reaching the sixteenth week with a poor record of 5-10.

Strong verbal confrontation between Singletary and Troy Smith, San Francisco’s quarterback, was also an influential factor in firing the coach. To end the NFL regular season, San Francisco named defensive coordinator Jim Tomsula, as the interim coach.