49ers take away a key divisional win

Football Betting Lines

09/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This past Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams was a classic example of give and take. As in the 49ers offense giveth and the 49ers defense taketh away.

San Francisco managed just 186 yards of offense and fumbled the ball away twice. Luckily, the defense managed to force and recover three fumbles of its own to help the 49ers pull out a 17-16 win.

Two of those St. Louis turnovers were forced on the Rams' first two possessions of the second half. The first came when San Francisco's Bryant Young sacked Marc Bulger, forcing the ball loose just shy of midfield.

On their next drive, the Rams seemed about to pad their 13-7 lead, as Bulger hit Torry Holt across the middle of the field. Holt dashed across San Francisco's 10-yard line before Nate Clements stripped him from behind. The ball rolled out of bounds in the end zone, giving the Niners the ball. San Francisco scored a touchdown on the resulting drive to go in front.

"They (the Rams) made a good catch, throw and catch," said Clements. "It's something I've been working on in practice, always run to the ball because you never know. I kept running and never gave up on the play and I saw the ball and punched it out."

However, a turnover of their own nearly cost the 49ers later on, as quarterback Alex Smith was sacked and fumbled early in the fourth quarter. That led to a Rams' field goal and a two-point Niners' deficit.

Late in the game, though, the Rams' Dante Hall, usually so dangerous when returning kicks, muffed a punt that San Francisco's Marcus Hudson recovered at the Rams' 26. Joe Nedney then booted a go-ahead 40-yard field goal with 3:28 left.

The San Francisco defense took over from there by forcing a four-and-out, including a stop on 4th-and-7, before standing tall on what turned out to be the Rams' final possession of the game. Young again got to Bulger, setting up a 3rd-and-17 for St. Louis in the waning moments. After a 14-yard pass play, the 49ers held their breath as the Rams' Jeff Wilkins left a 56-yard field goal try short.

The victory bolstered the confidence of the 49ers revamped defense.

"We knew we were going to win the game, we had that mentality," said Clements, one of the new additions. "The last two-minute drive, that's the situation we love and we knew we were going to pull the game out. It wasn't a sense of urgency where everybody was panicking, we just knew we were going to win if we just go out there and play our defense."

San Francisco is 2-0 for the first time since 1998 and used a lot of pressure on the quarterback to get there. The team posted six sacks against the Rams, led by Young's two.

"It's always important, any game you play in, to apply pressure," Young said. "Even if you don't get the sack, making (Bulger) throw when he's not wanting to throw, that was big. We were able to get some pressure off the edges through our four man (rushes) and through our zone pressures as well."

HEAVY HEART

Normally, 49ers running back Frank Gore runs with a punishing shoulder to compliment breakaway speed. On Sunday, though, the Pro Bowl back ran with a heavy heart.

Gore turned in a game-deciding performance in the win over the Rams this past weekend, just days after his mother Liz passed away after battling a lengthy illness.

"When I got up this morning, it was tough getting up," Gore said. "Every time that it is game time, all I know is that stadium. Me and my mom would talk on the way to the stadium. This morning, I just kept looking at my phone. She didn't call. It's tough, you know. I shed a few tears and it was tough to get up, but I decided to play and I had to do my best. "

Despite the personal loss, Gore rushed for 81 yards and a pair of scores, pointing towards the sky in tribute after each touchdown.

Gore said he knew his mother was watching over him, especially on his big fourth-down play in the third quarter that resulted in a score. Facing a 4th- and-1 with under three minutes left in the stanza, Gore took a handoff and busted through the line for what ended as a 43-yard touchdown run that gave San Francisco a 14-13 edge.

"They (the Rams) had nine in the box. We had eight," Gore said of the run. "Everybody on our side of the ball got a hat on them and I got through. They had a hand on my leg and I kept pumping and got down to the secondary. I made a move on the safety and that was it. When I crossed the goal line, she had to be with me on that one."

Gore showed immense commitment to his team by playing so soon after the passing of his mother, an attribute that wasn't lost on Smith, who said he knew how close the running back was to his mom.

"He is so dedicated to this team and how much loves being a part of this team and helping this team win," Smith said. "He had the two touchdowns and the big run on fourth down. I know he was excited and I was happy for him."

YOUNG AGAIN

The 49ers are 2-0 for the first time since 1998, which was also the last full season in which Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young played with the club. Young suffered yet another concussion the following year and retired at the end of the 1999 season.

San Francisco finished the 1998 season 12-4 and bested the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card game before falling to the Falcons the following week. The Niners have made the postseason just twice since, including their last visit in 2002.

WHO IS HOT

Patrick Willis and Manny Lawson are forming an explosive linebacker duo. Willis, San Francisco's first-round pick in this past draft, is adapting quickly to the NFL and has 19 tackles (14 solo) through two games from the inside spot.

Lawson, a first-round pick in 2006, has added pressure from the outside, posting 12 total tackles and a sack so far.

WHO IS NOT

Smith is not off to the start he would have hoped. He has thrown for only 252 yards -- 126 in each of the first two games -- and has yet to find the end zone, although he hasn't been intercepted yet either.

Smith's current QB rating is 69.1.

"I know we can be a lot better. I know it," Smith said after the win over the Rams. "I think everyone in there knows it. That is the scary thing, 2-0 and we have a long way to go for improvement. We have a lot of games in front of us and we need to keep improving."

NEXT UP: ONE FOR THE THUMB

A battle between a pair of five-time Super Bowl champs is on the horizon for the 49ers, who travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 2-0 Steelers on Sunday.

San Francisco, which last won a NFL title in 1994, is 10-8 all-time against the Steelers, having won four of the last five matchups. The 49ers recorded a 30-14 win at home in their most recent meeting with Pittsburgh, which occurred in 2003.