Like Rams to the slaughter...

[gridlore]

Holy crap, we have a football team!

San Francisco 49ers: 20
St. Louis Rams: 13

The surprising San Francisco 49ers put on the greater show on turf, making just enough big plays for another win over the St. Louis Rams.

Antonio Bryant caught a 72-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith, and San Francisco's defense stood strong in the final minutes of its second straight home-opening win over its oldest rivals, 20-13 Sunday.

Smith passed for 233 yards and Frank Gore rushed for 127 — including a 32-yard score — as the 49ers (1-1) followed up a narrow loss at Arizona last week with a cohesive victory over the Rams, who lost at Candlestick Park last September as well.

Smith completed just 11 of 22 passes but made good throws when it mattered, while San Francisco's defense forced Marc Bulger's fourth-quarter fumble and made another big stop in the closing minutes.

Under new coach Scott Linehan, the Rams (1-1) no longer have the "Greatest Show on Turf" offense that tormented the Niners for so many years — and they've scored just one touchdown in their first two games.

Coordinator Jim Haslett's defense played well again, but yielded those big plays by a San Francisco offense that rarely gained yards in bunches while going 4-12 last season.

Bulger went 19-of-34 for 185 yards and Stephen Jackson rushed for 103 yards — but mistakes and big stops limited the Rams to three points and 118 yards in the second half.

San Francisco scored its two touchdowns in the first 5 minutes after halftime, and the defense made them stand up.

After Bulger's fumble was recovered by Isaac Sopoaga at the St. Louis 17, Joe Nedney hit his second field goal to put the 49ers up by seven points with 5:20 to play.

The Rams then went three-and-out, with Bryant Young sacking Bulger — and the Niners ran out the clock, with Gore surging for key gains just as Marshall Faulk often ground up time against the 49ers in years past.

Our defense was amazing, sacking the Rams six times.

Comments

[davehogg.livejournal.com]

I suspect my brother thinks that was the best birthday present he's gotten in years.

[aurictech.livejournal.com]

Don't gloat too much, Penguin Boy. Keep in mind that the closest the Giants came to a victory this past weekend against the Redbirds was a rainout on Sunday....

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the season is over for us, the corpse just hasn't stopped twitching yet.

But while I love baseball and my Giants, 49er football is in my very genes. I was raised a Faithful, and thew only thing as good as beating the Rams is beating the Cowboys.