"In a year when some NFL teams lost their top three quarterbacks, the 49ers never needed to call on their second-stringer, rookie Colin Kaepernick, for anything more than mop-up duty. Alex Smith led the league in sacks absorbed with 44, yet stayed healthy and played all 16 games for the first time since 2006.

Frank Gore also played all 16 games for the first time since 2006, despite spending the offseason recovering from a fractured hip that, with improper rehabilitation, could have ended his career."