Alex Smith has arrived.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback didn't have the best of statistics Sunday when his team handed the Detroit Lions their first loss of the season 25-19.

But he still got the job done, throwing a 6-yard scoring pass on fourth down to Delanie Walker with 1:51 left in the game to put the 49ers ahead for good.

For the game, Smith was 17-of-32 for 125 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was well below the 293 yards thrown by his counterpart from Detroit, Matthew Stafford, who was 28-of-50 for 293 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

But Smith still steered his team to the win, the fifth straight for the 49ers, who are 5-1 under new coach Jim Harbaugh.

The pass to Walker is one Smith won't forget for a long time.

"Usually when you get down to the red zone, defense can do one of two things," he said. "They can bring pressure or they can play coverage. It's kind of...you're going to have to kind of force it down in there. We got the look we wanted. Delanie made a great play on that."

Smith said he was able to overcome the Lions defense by getting the ball out in a hurry.

"You beat it with a quick throw, and get it in, and Delanie made a great play on the ball," Smith said.

Past teams playing at Ford Field have struggled offensively with the noise generated by 67,000-plus Lions fans.

"It was tough, especially early, they were energetic," Smith said. "And then the thing that happens with a crowd, once you get a couple of false starts, it's like gasoline on a fire, they eat it up and get louder and louder. You know really I feel like an offense when you come in if you're disciplined early and can kind of, you know, beat them out.

"If all of a sudden you can put some first downs together, not make the mistakes, I think you can really quiet the crowd down. But we weren't able to do that in the first half. Too many self-inflicted wounds, you know. Pre-snap penalties, personal fouls, things like that really hurt us."

Smith, after six games, is 100-of-158 for 1,090 yards for a 63.3 percentage rate for eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

"It was a great win," Smith said after the Lions game. "You know, not thinking about 5-1; 3-0 on the road, coming back out there, that teams was a really good team, hats off to them. They played physical. They're a talented group. (We found) a way to pull off a win in the fourth quarter (which) is special."

Smith is playing for a proud franchise that has won five Super Bowls but hasn't seriously competed for an NFL title in many years. The team was 6-10 a year ago.

The locker room is what jumps out at me," Smith said. "Just that, it's so different, the commitment level, the sacrifice. The guys are just different and it's fun to be a part of. "(They) just don't quit and it shows up on game day."

Smith is a seven-year veteran out of Utah who was a former overall No. 1 draft pick. He signed a one-year contract during the offseason to stay with the 49ers and is hoping this can be a breakout season for him and the team.

"I've never been part of something like this, especially since I've been a pro," he said of his team's 5-1 start. "Never really noticed it at first this offseason, even when I was signed and getting all the calls from the guys on the offense, wanting to get together and hungry. Everybody was jumping on board once we got together and once camp started.

"There's still a lot of improvement left for us, especially on offense. Defense played unbelievable (Sunday), they deserve all the credit for the W. They just played lights out. Special teams kept us in it as well. Fortunately, we were able to make plays when we needed to and made the play in the end when we had to, but a (there's need for) a lot of room of improvement on offense for us."

 

 

WhatifSports: Week 7 NFL picks

 

Favorite Matchups: NFL 2011 Week 7

 

Twitter: @ihavenet

 

 

Copyright 2011, AHN - All Rights Reserved