Week 2 Game Recap: St. Louis Rams 13, San Francisco 49ers 20

What you need to know

St. Louis Rams

The once vaunted St. Louis Rams’ offense continued to struggle under first year coach Scott Linehan. Held without a touchdown in their opening week win over Denver, the Rams scored their first TD of the year, controlled the clock, ran a balanced attack, but could only manage to score 13 points.

By the end of the first half, St. Louis held a staggering 19:29 to 10:31 advantage in time of possession, had gained 74 yards rushing and 73 yards passing and lead 10 to 3. At the start of the second half, however, the Rams’ defense gave up two big plays and the offense was unable to add more than a Jeff Wilkins’ field goal.

The offensive line is an area of immediate concern. Starting center Andy McCollum was lost for the season last week with an injury. Guard Richie Incognito moved to center and veteran Todd Steussie took over for Incognito at guard. LT Orlando pace, diagnosed with a concussion, was taken to a local hospital for observation early in the second half.

Marc Bulger passed for 185 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked six times by the blitzing 49ers’ defense.

Steven Jackson continued to impress with his aggressive ball carrying, and averaged 4.7 yards rushing. Newly signed veteran Steven Davis made his first appearance in a St. Louis uniform and gained another 16 yards on five carries.

Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce remain the cornerstones of the Rams’ passing offense, but there is much work to be done. Despite the fact that receivers coach Henry Ellard was retained to help make a smooth transition to the new offense, it seemed that Bulger and his receivers were not always on the same page.

San Francisco 49ers

Quarterback Alex Smith continues to show marked improvement over last season, as he lead the 49ers’ back from a seven point half time deficit. He only attempted 22 passes, but he threw for 233 yards, including a long touchdown bomb to Antonio Bryant early in the third quarter.

San Francisco opened the game without offensive left tackle Jonas Jennings and left guard Larry Allen, but the line showed no ill effect. Adam Snyder and Tony Ragge replaced them, and they did not allow Smith to be sacked by Jim Haslett’s aggressive defense.

Frank Gore gained 127 yards and he was able to churn out first downs late in the game when the Rams were trying desperately to get the ball back. Gore is listed at 5’9 and 212 pounds but he runs much bigger than that. While he thrives on runs between the tackles, he’s also fast enough to get outside. Unfortunately, he fumbled near the goal line in the first half stalling a potentially game tying drive. He also fumbled last week, deep in his own end of the field. While Gore touched the ball a total of 31 times in this game, he cannot keep turning the ball over.

What you ought to know

QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 19 - 34 - 185 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0

While no longer quarterbacking the greatest show on turf, the offense installed by new head coach Scott Linehan promised to be more balanced but equally explosive. Bulger is supposed to enjoy better pass protection, but he was sacked six times and fumbled in the fourth quarter which led to a 49ers’ field goal.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 22 - 103 - 0, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (3 targets)

The Rams have a balanced attack now, and Jackson is the workhorse in the backfield. He carried 22 times and gained over 100 yards but failed to reach the end zone. He is a punishing runner who appears to run angry, and when the Rams fell behind in this game they kept feeding him the ball.

RB Stephen Davis, Rush: 5 - 16 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets)

Davis made his first appearance for St. Louis in the second quarter to spell Steven Jackson and carried the ball five times. He appears to be in good shape and should see more short yardage carries as the season wears on. He also caught a short pass for two yards.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 5 - 77 - 0 (6 targets)

Bruce appears to be fully recovered from his injuries and he remains a serious threat. He led the Rams in receiving yards and also had the longest catch of the game, 24 yards.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 5 - 30 - 1 (12 targets)

While Holt was Bulger’s favorite target in this game, they were often out of sync. It seems only a matter of time before they start clicking again, and Holt did catch a short three yard TD pass in the second quarter

WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 3 - 13 - 0 (6 targets)

Brought in on passing downs as a slot receiver, Curtis’ longest gain was six yards.

WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets)

McDonald caught the only pass thrown to him for eight yards.

TE Joe Klopfenstein, Rec: 2 - 34 - 0 (3 targets)

The big rookie tight end from Colorado caught two passes, including one for 23 yards in the fourth quarter. In this game, Klopfenstein was primarily a blocker.

PK Jeff Wilkins 2 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

Named special teams player of the week for his six field goals in the win against Denver, Wilkins went two for three on the day, connecting from 40 and 49 yards but missing wide right from 46.

STL Rush Defense

The Rams are trying to be more aggressive this year, and while Gore rushed for 127 yards on the day, they were able to force him to fumble on their own goal line. In the fourth quarter, however, the 49ers got the ball with 3:38 at their own 15, and the Rams set up to force San Francisco to go three and out. But Frank Gore carried the ball on six straight running plays, picking up two first downs and eventually time ran out. Will Witherspoon led the team with nine tackles and forced Gore’s goal line fumble, but overall, not a very good showing by the Rams.

STL Pass Defense

St. Louis was unable to sack Alex Smith, although they were able to get some on pressure him. He only completed fifty percent of his passes, but the Rams gave up the big play to Antonio Bryant, which put San Francisco up for good. The 49ers were so successful running the ball they only passed 22 times.

QB Alex Smith, Pass: 11 - 22 - 233 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -1 - 0

Smith does not appear to be the same player who at times looked so dreadful last season. He acted decisively in this game, and while he only completed half of his passes, he is learning how to be a legitimate NFL quarterback. In the third quarter Smith hit Antonio Bryant in stride at the 35 to complete a 72 yard TD play which put San Francisco up for good.

RB Frank Gore, Rush: 29 - 127 - 1, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (4 targets)

For the second week in a row, Frank Gore is showing why San Francisco felt comfortable in trading away veteran running back Kevan Barlow. He averaged 4.4 yards, scoring the game tying TD on the second play of the second half. He blew through a hole on the right side and scampered 32 yards into the end zone igniting the 49ers' come back. He did however have a costly fumble near the goal line.

Gore also caught two passes for ten yards.

RB Chris Hetherington, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets)

The big fullback did not have a carry but did catch one pass for zero yards.

RB Michael Robinson, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0

The rookie runner and former Penn State quarterback carried the ball one time for one yard.

WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 4 - 131 - 1 (8 targets)

The play of the game for the 49ers came on their second possession of the second half. Smith hit Bryant in stride on a pass and run of 72 yards for the go ahead touchdown. He showed flashes of his temperamental self, however, when a pass sailed well over his head in the first half, but Bryant is clearly the go to receiver with enough speed to stretch any defense.

WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 3 - 78 - 0 (5 targets)

Battle is showing to be a nice complement receiver to Antonio Bryant. He caught a 56 yard pass in the first quarter and also returned the only St. Louis punt of the game for seven yards.

WR Bryan Gilmore, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (3 targets)

On a day when San Francisco only passed 22 times, Gilmore was limited to one catch for 14 yards.

TE Vernon Davis (1 targets)

Davis dropped the only pass thrown to him in the end zone in the first quarter.

PK Joe Nedney 2 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points

Nedney was good on field goals from 20 and 32 yards but missed from 46 yards in the fourth quarter.

SF Rush Defense

Steven Jackson averaged 4.7 yards per carry but San Francisco kept him out of the end zone. Veteran cornerback Walt Harris led the team with seven tackles.

SF Pass Defense

The 49ers were able to pressure Bulger all day and registered a total of six sacks. Rookie Manny Lawson registered two sacks and 13 year veteran Bryant Young added another. With the Rams trailing in the game, Bulger began to throw more frequently, but San Francisco only allowed one Jeff Wilkins field goal in the second half.