PHILADELPHIA — With a 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers went from in the race to on the clock.

The only thing at stake over their final two games will be draft position.
Whatever snowball’s chance the 49ers had at making the playoffs vanished in a flurry of interceptions, silly mistakes and an 0-for-11 performance on third down.
“This season was so crazy, because Arizona is not the best team in the division,” said cornerback Dre’ Bly, referring to the 49ers’ season sweep of the Cardinals. “We’re the best team in this division, because we dominated them in two games. “... I have no doubt that this will be our division the next couple of years.”
Toss that quote into the rock pile of optimism the 49ers couldn’t back up in 2009. It started when owner Jed York introduced Mike Singletary as coach at the end of last year, declaring that it was the last time the 49ers’ season would end in December.
Singletary later said there was “no doubt” the team could make the postseason. In September, he responded to a defeat in Minnesota by vowing: “We’ll see them again — in the playoffs.”
Instead, this season will end like so many others. The 49ers last made the playoffs in 2002.
The combination of events Sunday — a 49ers loss and an Arizona victory over Detroit — clinched the NFC West for the Cardinals and clinched another year of Wait Till Next Year for the 49ers.
“The feeling is down. The feeling is upset. The feeling is frustrated. Disappointed. Whatever word you want to use,” Singletary said.
The 49ers hardly looked playoff worthy Sunday. Quarterback Alex Smith threw three interceptions and struggled to a season-low 42.3 passer rating.
Singletary said it was a bad game by a good quarterback and endorsed Smith as his man for 2010 by saying, “I don’t have any questions about him going forward.”
The defense, meanwhile, let receiver DeSean Jackson slip free for six catches and 140 yards, including a back-breaking 59-yarder in the fourth quarter that set up the Eagles’ game-icing touchdown.
“Obviously, this was not our best performance,” Singletary said as he stepped to the postgame podium.
The 49ers haven’t won back-to-back games since September. Now they will need to do so just to finish the season at .500. They finish up at home against the Lions (2-12) and at St. Louis (1-13).
Against a tougher opponent Sunday, the 49ers were no match. As has been their custom on the road, they fell behind big — 20-3 at halftime — before mounting a fruitless rally in the second half.
“Truthfully, we’re not a good enough football team to start behind the 8-ball like that,” linebacker Takeo Spikes said.
A day after a whopping 23.2 inches of snow fell on Philadelphia, game-time conditions were almost tolerable: 32 degrees and hardly a snowflake on the field.
The Eagles profited from the early clear skies by scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, on a 19-yard pass from Donovan McNabb to Jackson, the former Cal star.
Jackson’s most important catch came much later.
In the fourth quarter, with the 49ers hanging around at 20-13, McNabb faced a third-and-2 deep in Eagles territory.
That’s when he spotted Jackson zipping through double coverage on the right side and hit him for a 59-yard gain. Five plays later, running back LeSean McCoy scored on a 2-yard run to give the Eagles a 27-13 lead with 11:32 to play.
Bly said it was his responsibility to hang with Jackson on that play. But he acknowledged he was beaten by one of the NFL’s most dynamic players.
“When the guy is screaming upfield like that, it’s hard,” Bly said.
Look no further for a metaphor for 2009: The 49ers couldn’t keep up.
They were out of step on offense again Sunday, when they managed only 118 yards in the first half.
All three of Smith’s interceptions came during those first two quarters. The first came on a high pass intended for tight end Vernon Davis. (Singletary thought Davis could have worked harder on that pass to wrest the ball away from safety Quintin Mikell). The second interception came in the second quarter, when Smith tried to force the ball to Davis. Asante Samuel jumped the route, snared the ball and returned it to the 49ers’ 28-yard line.
Smith’s last turnover came just before halftime, when he tried to throw a short pass to Frank Gore while being hit by Juqua Parker. The result was an overthrow into the grateful hands of linebacker Tracy White.
In the locker room, the 49ers wondered what might have been — again.
“I think a lot of guys are taking this loss hard, because we really worked very hard this season,” Gore said. “You look back and realize that there are games we should have won. In this league, though, you cannot turn the ball over and make mistakes and win games.”