In this, the strangest season of his N.F.L. career, David Akers connected on a 63-yard field goal, nearly shanked his way out of employment in San Francisco, underwent treatment for a double hernia injury, received death threats on social media, shuttered his Twitter account and won a job competition that took place before the playoffs started.

Some season.

It will end about two weeks from now, in the ultimate triumph or perhaps the worst kind of defeat. It could end with the payoff Akers always hoped for, his first Super Bowl ring. Or it could end with another missed field goal in a season filled with far too many of them, a result that would live in ignominy for a kicker known for his reliability until 2012.

As the 49ers prepare for Super Bowl XLVII, the franchise’s most important game in more than a decade, the body part that produces the most angst per pound is not the torn triceps tendon of defensive lineman Justin Smith, nor the right arm of the inexperienced young quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

It is Akers’s left leg.

On Monday, Coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters in San Francisco that “David Akers is our kicker” for the Super Bowl, a decision Harbaugh made early, perhaps to inspire confidence in either his kicker or his fan base, or even in himself. Yet his decisions over the past month spoke to a lack of confidence, not an abundance of it.