SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jan 2, 2011
Alex Smith threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers routed the visiting Arizona Cardinals 38-7 in the regular season finale for both teams.
In what is expected to be his last game in a San Francisco uniform, Smith (15 of 29) threw a 37-yard TD pass to Ted Ginn and also connected with Vernon Davis on a 59-yard scoring play.
The former No. 1 overall pick out of Utah will become a free agent and ended this season with an overall 19-31 record as the 49ers' starter.
Leading 10-7 at halftime, San Francisco (6-10) broke the game open with 21 third-quarter points. Following the scoring pass to Davis, Brian Westbrook had a pair of 6-yard touchdown runs to give the 49ers a 24-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Westbrook finished with 79 yards rushing on 13 carries for the 49ers, who avoided finishing in last place in the NFL's weakest division. Davis had three catches for 96 yards, Josh Morgan added three receptions for 59 yards and Michael Crabtree had four catches for 47 yards for San Francisco, which finished the season with a 5-3 home record.
Larry Fitzgerald had 11 receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown for Arizona, which ended the season with a 1-7 record on the road.
John Skelton, a 6-foot-5 rookie out of Fordham who was making his fourth career start, completed 14 of 25 passes for 92 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Cardinals (5-11). Skelton was replaced late in the third quarter by second-year pro Richard Bartel, who was 16 of 28 for 150 yards and an interception.
San Francisco's Tarell Brown intercepted a Bartel pass and returned it 62 yards with four minutes to play to cap the scoring.