The first game of the 2024 NFL playoffs, between the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans, ended up getting a little crazy.
What it also was, though, was an intriguing battle between several former San Francisco 49ers employees.
On one sideline, former Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman (he of the infamous Cassie Baalke tweet).
On the Houston Texans sideline, former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is backed up as offensive coordinator by former 49ers assistant Bobby Slowik.
Former Niners even got some representation on the field, as former San Francisco linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair started for the Texans.
If you were watching with a 49ers eye on the game, in amongst the craziness, it was pretty much everything one could expect from each of the former Niners pieces involved.
Harbaugh had his team ready to play, and was full of tough talk, firing up his team to attempt to win behind a solid run game and suffocating defense.
Feel like you've seen that before? It's probably because you have.
Unfortunately, he was hamstrung by Roman, who, despite an early monopoly on the ball in the first half, could only muster two field-goal drives for a 6-0 lead and came up with some baffling play calls in crunch situations, including running a play short of the first-down marker on 4th-and-2.
Barring wide receiver Ladd McConkey's ridiculous 86-yard touchdown (which the Chargers even bungled by having the PAT returned for a two-point play by the Texans anyway), they didn't do much else of note, either. They generated only 261 offensive yards and went 3-of-11 on third downs, as well as turning the ball over four times in a disastrous game for Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Feel like you've seen that before? It's probably because you have.
Ryans, meanwhile, fired up his defense enough to keep his stuttering offense in the game, marrying some excellent and aggressive plays by his defensive backs, particularly All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr, who recorded two interceptions, and safety Eric Murray, who had a pick-six to end the third quarter:
ERIC MURRAY PICK-6!
— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2025
📺: #LACvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/iSsBcXpiDW
All of Ryans' good effort to fire up his defense kept the game from getting away from Houston, allowing enough time for Slowik's offense to find it's feet, even though the Texans offensive line struggled. Quarterback C.J. Stroud hit some excellent schemed-open throws to Nico Collins, as well as riffing on an excellent improvised third-down play, and eventually, it was enough for them to take the lead late in the first half.
Feel like you've seen that before? It's probably because you have.
Slowik is in his second year as the Texans offensive coordinator since leaving San Francisco along with Ryans in 2023, and has taken quite a bit of criticism from supposed experts this year, not unlike his mentor, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. However, when it really came down to it, Slowik did a good enough job to get his team in position to score points and win the game, even if Houston was somewhat ill-disciplined, conceding eight penalties for 86 yards.
He also managed to marshal his forces to put together a near seven-minute, 14-play, 74-yard clock-killing drive ending in the dagger touchdown from running back Joe Mixon, a perfect response to the Chargers' unlikely score via McConkey.
Feel like you've seen that before? It's probably... wait, is there an echo in here?
The 49ers didn't make it to the dance this season, but there was enough there to remind Niner fans of playoff days, both good and bad in watching the Harbaugh/Ryans battle on Saturday evening. Ill-disciplined play with red-zone issues (but ultimately, enough to win the game), a heavy pass rush helping out an aggressive defensive backfield. But also, from even further in history on the other sideline, playoff struggles and failures on offense in a close game that just required some creativity to win.
In the end, the younger coach prevailed, with Ryans' Texans winning 32-12 over Harbaugh's Chargers. Harbaugh continues his NFL trend of making average-to-above-average teams good, but not quite great, and will presumably again face questions over his ties to Roman, who disappointed again in crunch time.
Probably not from the GM's daughter, though.
Meanwhile, the Texans go on to face another echo of the 49ers playoff past; they'll face the Kansas City Chiefs next week at Arrowhead Stadium.
For Ryans' sake, lets hope that's where the similarities with the Niners end.