With Frank Gore getting the night off after signing a big deal, Dixon capped San Francisco’s first two drives with 1-yard touchdown runs and the 49ers beat the Chargers 20-17 in an exhibition finale Thursday night.

It was a last chance for rookies and other players on the bubble to impress the coaches before the final roster cutdowns on Saturday.

Then it’s on to opening day on Sept. 11. The 49ers (2-2), under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, host the Seattle Seahawks. The Chargers (2-2), heading into their fifth year under Norv Turner, host Peterson and the Vikings.

The Chargers’ first-string defense didn’t look impressive against the 49ers’ running game, allowing 54 yards on the ground on San Francisco’s opening drive, which covered 80 yards behind starter Alex Smith. The Bolts have a little more than a week to prepare for Peterson, who set the NFL’s single-game record with 296 yards when the Vikings last played San Diego, in 2007.

“We had a lot of guys missing. We have to get them caught up and get them where they are ready to play at a high level for an extended period of time,” Turner said.

The 49ers had six sacks.

Gore, who rarely plays in exhibitions, sat out a day after signing a $21 million, three-year contract extension.

Smith was in for the first two drives as the 49ers rebounded from an embarrassing 30-7 loss to Houston.

“I don’t know if we had anything to prove,” Smith said. “We definitely wanted to get the taste out of our mouth from last week, though. Get some rhythm, convert on some third downs, move some chains and hopefully put points on the board, and we were able to do that.

“We took the opening drive all the way down and stuck it in and were able to get the ball on the turnover and put that one in, as well. So it was a great start,” said Smith, who was 8 of 10 passing for 45 yards.

San Diego held out offensive stars Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd.

Running back Ryan Mathews, coming off an uneven rookie season, showed his speed with a 56-yard scoring burst in the second quarter. Earlier, he failed to pick up blitzing NaVorro Bowman, who sacked Billy Volek, forced a fumble and recovered. That set up Dixon’s second TD run.

“I was definitely pleased the way the offensive line played,” Harbaugh said. “I thought they played with a lot of urgency and it’s been a challenge for them all week. It was a short week, but a good week.”

Dixon had 45 yards on 11 carries. Rookie Kendall Hunter had 57 yards on 11 carries.

“It was simple,” Dixon said. “I stayed low, lowered my pads, got up in there behind my big boys and we made it happen. It gives you more confidence, and once you get your confidence to a certain level, you can do whatever.”

Rookie Jordan Todman also lost a fumble for the Chargers, who missed the playoffs last year because of special teams gaffes and turnovers. Rookie quarterback Scott Tolzien threw an interception and was sacked five times. He also threw a nine-yard TD pass to Seyi Ajirotutu with 1:21 left.

“I liked getting Ryan going,” Turner said. “It was good to see him break the long run. I thought he hit some good runs up in there, too. Obviously you can’t win in this league if you turn the ball over. I’m disappointed that we had the two turnovers.”

The Chargers, in turn, intercepted 49ers rookie Colin Kaepernick twice.

Kaepernick came on early in the second quarter in place of Alex Smith, who led the first two scoring drives. He was intercepted by rookie cornerback Marcus Gilchrist in the end zone.

Kaepernick was picked off later in the second quarter by Dante Hughes on a tipped ball.

Both teams had turned it over to second- and third-stringers by early in the second quarter.

NOTES: Even though he didn’t play, Gore was in uniform. … Sitting out from the Chargers’ first-team defense were ILB Larry English, T Antonio Garay and OLB Shaun Phillips. … Chargers LBs Travis LaBoy and Takeo Spikes were captains against their former team.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Now that the exhibition season is over, the San Diego Chargers have just over a week to get ready for Adrian Peterson.
That’s after looking shaky against Anthony Dixon and the San Francisco 49ers.
With Frank Gore getting the night off after signing a big deal, Dixon capped San Francisco’s first two drives with 1-yard touchdown runs and the 49ers beat the Chargers 20-17 in an exhibition finale Thursday night.
It was a last chance for rookies and other players on the bubble to impress the coaches before the final roster cutdowns on Saturday.
Then it’s on to opening day on Sept. 11. The 49ers (2-2), under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, host the Seattle Seahawks. The Chargers (2-2), heading into their fifth year under Norv Turner, host Peterson and the Vikings.
The Chargers’ first-string defense didn’t look impressive against the 49ers’ running game, allowing 54 yards on the ground on San Francisco’s opening drive, which covered 80 yards behind starter Alex Smith. The Bolts have a little more than a week to prepare for Peterson, who set the NFL’s single-game record with 296 yards when the Vikings last played San Diego, in 2007.
“We had a lot of guys missing. We have to get them caught up and get them where they are ready to play at a high level for an extended period of time,” Turner said.
The 49ers had six sacks.
Gore, who rarely plays in exhibitions, sat out a day after signing a $21 million, three-year contract extension.
Smith was in for the first two drives as the 49ers rebounded from an embarrassing 30-7 loss to Houston.
“I don’t know if we had anything to prove,” Smith said. “We definitely wanted to get the taste out of our mouth from last week, though. Get some rhythm, convert on some third downs, move some chains and hopefully put points on the board, and we were able to do that.
“We took the opening drive all the way down and stuck it in and were able to get the ball on the turnover and put that one in, as well. So it was a great start,” said Smith, who was 8 of 10 passing for 45 yards.
San Diego held out offensive stars Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd.
Running back Ryan Mathews, coming off an uneven rookie season, showed his speed with a 56-yard scoring burst in the second quarter. Earlier, he failed to pick up blitzing NaVorro Bowman, who sacked Billy Volek, forced a fumble and recovered. That set up Dixon’s second TD run.
“I was definitely pleased the way the offensive line played,” Harbaugh said. “I thought they played with a lot of urgency and it’s been a challenge for them all week. It was a short week, but a good week.”
Dixon had 45 yards on 11 carries. Rookie Kendall Hunter had 57 yards on 11 carries.
“It was simple,” Dixon said. “I stayed low, lowered my pads, got up in there behind my big boys and we made it happen. It gives you more confidence, and once you get your confidence to a certain level, you can do whatever.”
Rookie Jordan Todman also lost a fumble for the Chargers, who missed the playoffs last year because of special teams gaffes and turnovers. Rookie quarterback Scott Tolzien threw an interception and was sacked five times. He also threw a nine-yard TD pass to Seyi Ajirotutu with 1:21 left.
“I liked getting Ryan going,” Turner said. “It was good to see him break the long run. I thought he hit some good runs up in there, too. Obviously you can’t win in this league if you turn the ball over. I’m disappointed that we had the two turnovers.”
The Chargers, in turn, intercepted 49ers rookie Colin Kaepernick twice.
Kaepernick came on early in the second quarter in place of Alex Smith, who led the first two scoring drives. He was intercepted by rookie cornerback Marcus Gilchrist in the end zone.
Kaepernick was picked off later in the second quarter by Dante Hughes on a tipped ball.
Both teams had turned it over to second- and third-stringers by early in the second quarter.
NOTES: Even though he didn’t play, Gore was in uniform. … Sitting out from the Chargers’ first-team defense were ILB Larry English, T Antonio Garay and OLB Shaun Phillips. … Chargers LBs Travis LaBoy and Takeo Spikes were captains against their former team.

AP

Jim Harbaugh will have a lot of young players to work with as he tries to rebuild the San Francisco 49ers.

Yesterday’s awarding of two compensatory picks to the 49ers gives them 12 picks in this year’s NFL draft, the most of any team. The Eagles, with 10 picks, are the only other team with double-digit draft selections.

The 49ers have their own picks in all seven rounds, plus the Chargers’ fourth-round pick, the Seahawks’ sixth-round pick, the Lions’ seventh-round pick and two seventh-round compensatory picks.

San Francisco’s first-round pick is No. 7 overall, and there’s already talk that Harbaugh and G.M. Trent Baalke should be looking to trade down. Of course, there’s always talk that every team picking in the Top 10 should trade down, and most of the time, teams looking to trade down can’t find trading partners.

But the 49ers, more than any other team, have the material to make draft-day deals.

The confidence borders on arrogance, which is acceptable. “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up,” Muhammad Ali told us. And if what Jim Harbaugh offered in his comments isn’t bragging, it’s not distant. Now we find out if indeed he can back it up.

The choice of Harbaugh as the new 49ers coach seems perfect. The Niners, once the elite franchise in pro football, have been a shambles, almost an embarrassment for eight seasons.

They needed someone who not only could develop a winner, but someone whose reputation would invigorate a fanbase — which if it hadn’t lost hope, had lost interest — as those 15,000-20,000 empty seats at Candlestick proved without a doubt.

You had the hottest coaching name available at Stanford, 12 miles from Niners headquarters in Santa Clara — Harbaugh said 18, but who’s to quibble? — and you had to get him. Anything else would have been unacceptable.

The Niners got him, introducing Harbaugh on Friday afternoon at the historic Sheraton Palace Hotel in San Francisco. The enthusiasm was unquenchable, both for Harbaugh, who with a bit of poetic license said he could feel it coursing through his veins, and others. Former team president Carmen Policy told KCBS (740 AM) on Saturday morning he hadn’t been as excited about the Niners in years.

Harbaugh kept using the word humility in his remarks, yet he’s not humble, as he reminded with the words there is no obstacle which couldn’t be overcome.

Through the five years when he resurrected a 1-11 Stanford team to the 12-1 it finished this season, his last, Harbaugh said things like, “We bow to no man.” Or to his players, “The one thing you have to do to make an NFL team is take another man’s job away from him.” Or, “I have unshakable confidence.”

The thinking is as Bill Walsh, in 1979, Harbaugh will move from Stanford to the Super Bowl. Those who like omens point out that Harbaugh is 47, the same age as when Walsh was hired.

But Walsh had been an offensive coordinator with both the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers — Dan Fouts will tell you Walsh basically ran the Chargers in 1976 — while Harbaugh has only his years of playing quarterback in the NFL and a year as an offensive assistant with the Raiders as pro football experience.

If there’s a negative to all this, it’s that several top college coaches — Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino, Butch Davis — were unable to win in the NFL.

Pete Carroll went to the Seattle Seahawks from USC, where he had confrontations with Harbaugh, on the field and in conversations. Carroll got an upset over the Saints in the playoffs, but he twice had been a coach in the NFL. It’s virtually uncharted territory for Harbaugh.

But again, there’s that cockiness. “I don’t make comparisons between myself and other coaches,” said Harbaugh, who definitely will be compared to Walsh by the rest of us.

Jim’s older brother, John, is the coach of the Baltimore Ravens. “I’m probably half the coach he is,” Jim Harbaugh said of John in a Sports Illustrated profile. “But I’m trying.”

The 49ers are trying. The Giants made San Francisco a baseball town. It’s up to Jim Harbaugh to bring it back to football.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.