Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
since the 2nd half of the eagles game, the 49ers have outscored their opponents 69-6

Yeah. That point differential over the long haul is a big thing. Very big.
Everybody here knows if you have a unit within your team that is one dimensional (like can only run, or pass, or run defend etc) you will be exposed during the season, relatively quickly too. You will be made one dimensional most times.
Now, on a larger scale..if you have an entire team that is one dimensional (only an offense, no defense etc), that may not be exposed for quite awhile...you can win and win alot...up until the playoffs. You will prolly get exposed during the playoffs. You are an unbalnced team, and you will prolly be facing one of the better balanced teams in the league during the playoffs. Balance wins those games.
Hence, point differential points to balance, which is what you want if you are going to contend seriously in the big shows.
Example: Patsy's are rocking it on offense, but only have a 20 point differential. Very unbalanced and it shows: For all that high power offensive fuss and bother they got going.....they are only winning by an average of only 4 points. In the playoff's, that's prolly going to bite them in the ass.
The point differential indicates balance, and the niner's are playing some pretty balanced football right now accroding to that stat. Statistically, only the other Harbaugh's team is playing more balanced football.