The San Francisco 49ers defeated the St. Louis RamS in their Week 4 matchup on a national stage as both teams hooked up for Thursday Night Football. The 49ers started out slowly, but as Colin Kaepernick loosened up, it opened things up for the 49ers running game.
Three different running backs finished with touchdowns as Frank Gore led the ground game for San Francisco. Gore finished with 153 rushing yards and a touchdown, exposing the Rams' defense that started out playing pretty tough defense in this game. Kendall Hunter closed the door with a 29-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, giving him 43 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Dixon also made his presence in this game with six yards and a touchdown. In total, the 49ers had over 210 rushing yards in this game.
Anquan Boldin also showed up once again. He only had five catches for 90 yards, but he also grabbed a touchdown and picked up huge first downs for the 49ers.
The Rams capitalized on a Phil Dawson missed 53-yard field goal. They took advantage of a quick first down and face mask penalty to get deep into San Francisco territory. Instead of getting a touchdown on a third-down play, the Rams had to kick a field goal and they barely made it, taking a three-point lead.
With 6:22 to play, after going 0-3 in third down situations, the 49ers converted two; both passes went two Boldin and one of them wound up in the end zone. It was a bit of a miraculous score as Boldin caught the ball seven yards before the first down marker, was almost ran out bounds, but kept his balance, not only getting the first down, but reaching for the pylon for the score.
Frank Gore took it to the house right before the end of the first half, giving the 49ers a 14-3 lead. It was one of the few drives where the 49ers offense looked like itself as Kaepernick was hitting receivers and Gore was finding his holes.
The Rams seemed tired of watching Gore run around the field and they put a stop in it. In one of the first plays in the second half, Gore broke free and ran by the Rams' defensive line and was well into the secondary when he fumbled the ball. The Rams took over at their own 44, but Bradford could not take advantage. He missed in three consecutive passes and the 49ers went right to work.
Things finally seemed lopsided as the 49ers struggled early in on. Midway through the third quarter, the Rams had given up on their run as they had totaled only 16 yards, while the 49ers, led by Gore, had totaled 122 yards on the ground. As the Rams failed to score, the 49ers continued to add points on the scoreboard. With 8:49 to play in the third quarter, the 49ers scored their third touchdown and their 20th unanswered point in this game as Kaepernick found Vernon Davis in the end zone for the 12yard touchdown.
Though the 49ers had key players like Aldon Smith and Patrick Willis inactive for this game, they smothered the Rams' offense, who were one of the best passing teams in the league entering Thursday's game. NaVarro Bowman forced a fumble in the fourth quarter to set up a 1st & Goal from the Rams' third yard line. Anthony Nixon walked into the end zone after a one-yard run and it was clear the 49ers were going to win this one.
With the victory, the 49ers won their second game of the year and more importantly, they prove that when Kaepernick does not throw interceptions, they have a chance to win. The loss has the Rams at 1-3 and in last place in the NFC West.
