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| ARI at SEA | BAL at NYG | CHI at GB | CLE at BUF | DAL at WAS | DEN at ATL | DET at CAR | HOU at IND |
| MIN at TB | NO at KC | NYJ at NE | OAK at MIA | PHI at CIN | SD at PIT | STL at SF | TEN at JAX |
Week 11 Game Recap: St. Louis Rams 16, San Francisco 49ers 35
What you need to know
| St. Louis Rams |
St. Louis dominated time of possession in the first quarter, but the game quickly unraveled for the Rams after a flurry of second quarter turnovers. The offense played decently at times in the second half, but by then the game was out of reach.
QB Marc Bulger finished with okay numbers due to his garbage time production, but three consecutive turnovers in the second quarter put his team in a hole they could never climb out of.
Subbing for the injured RB Steven Jackson, RB Antonio Pittman put up good rushing stats and was also somewhat involved in the passing attack. RB Kenneth Darby also showed some flash and was the Rams' second leading receiver.
WR Donnie Avery was the most targeted Ram receiver by far, and five balls were of the deep variety. WR Torry Holt once again finished with average numbers. WR Dane Looker caught a short TD pass.
PK Josh Brown converted three of his four field goal attempts. The Ram defense was steamrolled in the second quarter before stiffening up a bit in the second half. What killed the Rams in this game were turnovers (three in one quarter) and the big play (five receptions for 20+ yards and six rushes for ten+ yards).
| San Francisco 49ers |
The 49ers had a huge second quarter and never looked back, though the offense sputtered in the second half.
QB Shaun Hill managed the game well and did enough good things early to put the game out of reach. Hill threw the ball accurately, avoided turnovers, evaded the pass rush, and took advantage of terrific field position to direct five first half scoring drives. He threw two TD passes and also ran for a score. Despite a scoreless second half, it was evident from this game at least that head coach Mike Singletary made a good choice naming Hill the starter.
RB Frank Gore busted off several good runs and scored two short TDs. Unfortunately his longest run (37 yards) ended with a fumble. DeShaun Foster had a couple of nice catches and subbed for Gore in the second half.
The 49ers had little need to throw the ball after halftime, and no receiver was targeted more than four times. WR Isaac Bruce had a quiet game. WR Bryant Johnson came up with a couple of big catches, including a second quarter TD grab that put the game away. WR Jason Hill got a little involved and had a nice 22 yard reception in the second quarter. TE Vernon Davis had just one reception, a two yard TD grab.
PK Joe Nedney made all five extra points and was not called upon to kick a FG. At times, the San Francisco defense put decent pressure on QB Marc Bulger, and they also came up with three turnovers.
What you ought to know
| QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 34 - 53 - 295 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 |
Bulger spread the ball around and did a good job throwing it short, but he did not seem comfortable in the pocket and was not very effective throwing the long ball. After a disastrous string of turnovers (one fumble and two INTs) in the second quarter led to three 49ers TDs, the game was essentially over. Bulger had eyes especially for rookie WR Donnie Avery, who was open all day. He kept WR Torry Holt involved, and also threw often to RBs Antonio Pittman and Kenneth Darby, especially during garbage time.
| RB Antonio Pittman, Rush: 14 - 95 - 0, Rec: 3 - 4 - 0 (5 targets) |
Pittman started for the injured Steven Jackson and ripped off a 24 yard gain on his first carry. He also had a 22 yard run later in the first quarter. Unfortunately the Rams fell way behind, and Pittman had only four carries in the second half. He ran with good power and obviously could have had a big game if the Rams had not become so one dimensional after halftime.
| RB Ken Darby, Rush: 7 - 26 - 0, Rec: 8 - 83 - 0 (8 targets) |
Bulger looked often to Darby swinging out of the backfield, and Darby for his part caught every ball thrown his way. Most of his receiving production came at the end of the first half when the 49ers were playing deep and conceding the short pass. Darby did run effectively with limited carries, as in the fourth quarter when he broke loose for a 13 yard gain.
| WR Donnie Avery, Rec: 9 - 93 - 0 (13 targets) |
Avery was by far Bulger's favorite target. The 49ers secondary allowed him a big cushion that usually left him open underneath. The strategy to contain Avery was mostly successful, as he got loose for only one deep pass, a disputed sideline play.
| WR Torry Holt, Rec: 5 - 60 - 0 (8 targets) |
Holt was fairly involved in the passing attack, but his final stats once again disappointed his fantasy owners, who were hoping for more when they drafted him. Holt was not targeted in the fourth quarter, as the Rams gave more playing time to their younger receivers.
| WR Derek Stanley, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (7 targets) |
The second year receiver got most of his chances late, after the game was out of reach.
| WR Keenan Burton, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (4 targets) |
The rookie Burton got some chances in this game, especially during garbage time in the second half.
| WR Dane Looker, Rec: 2 - 8 - 1 (7 targets) |
Looker was active during garbage time and caught a short TD pass in the fourth quarter.
| TE Anthony Becht, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Becht was an afterthought in this game and had just one short catch.
| PK Josh Brown 3 - 4 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Brown missed one FG, a 48 yard attempt to conclude the opening drive. He came back to drill two 40+ yard FGs in the third quarter, and also added a 24 yarder in the second quarter.
| STL Rush Defense |
The Rams were not able to contain Frank Gore and did a poor job overall defending the run. LB Will Witherspoon led the team with nine solo tackles and three assists.
| STL Pass Defense |
The Seahawks pass rush put only sporadic pressure on Shaun Hill and dropped him only twice. CB Jason Craft collected both sacks and also recovered a Frank Gore fumble. Coverage in general was not very good, as was obvious from Shaun Hill's 142.3 passer rating.
| QB Shaun Hill, Pass: 15 - 20 - 213 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 5 - 1 |
Hill was sacked two times (not a bad game for a 49ers QB), and he kept his cool, showed some elusiveness, and came up with a number of big plays. More importantly, he did not throw an INT or fumble the ball away. He didn't need to throw the ball much after the second quarter, but while the passing attack was still relevant, he did a good job spreading the ball around, keeping his top three WRs (Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson and Jason Hill) involved in the game. Johnson had a huge 42 yard catch, and RB Michael Robinson had a 36 yard reception that set up the 49ers with a first and goal from the one. Hill didn't scramble very often, but he scored a rushing TD on a quarterback draw.
| RB Frank Gore, Rush: 18 - 106 - 2, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gore ran explosively and had four runs of over ten yards. His two rushing TDs came in the first half and helped salt away the game for the 49ers. Gore had seven red zone touches, and he would have finished with even better numbers if Foster had not received so many carries. Gore was pulled early in the fourth quarter after the game was essentially decided.
| RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 10 - 17 - 0, Rec: 2 - 40 - 0 (2 targets) |
Foster had a nice 31 yard catch, and an 11 yard run. He mopped up for Frank Gore in the fourth quarter and fumbled the ball away on a busted play.
| RB Michael Robinson, Rush: 3 - 11 - 0, Rec: 2 - 54 - 0 (3 targets) |
Robinson had six touches in this game, and he contributed a ten yard run and two catches for 54 yards. He was also dropped for a loss trying to punch in the ball from the one yard line.
| WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 4 - 56 - 1 (4 targets) |
Johnson caught every pass thrown his way, including a two yard TD reception in the second quarter that capped the 49ers scoring. He also broke loose for a 42 yard catch and run that set up the second 49er TD.
| WR Jason Hill, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (4 targets) |
Hill had a 22 yard catch, and for the second straight game had an expanded role in the offense.
| WR Isaac Bruce, Rush: 1 - -3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) |
As the numbers show, Bruce was not a big factor in this game. He was not targeted in the second half, mostly because the 49ers weren't throwing the ball much.
| WR Arnaz Battle |
Battle was inactive for this game.
| WR Josh Morgan |
Morgan was inactive for this game.
| TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 1 - 2 - 1 (1 targets) |
Davis caught only one pass, for a short TD.
| PK Joe Nedney 0 - 0 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 5 points |
Nedney made all of his PATs and wasn't asked to kick a FG.
| SF Rush Defense |
The 49ers rush defense was not very strong, though this was partly due to their focusing on the Rams' passing attack in the second half. Backup RB Antonio Pittman ran effectively in relief of the injured Steven Jackson, and RB Kenneth Darby also had a few nice runs in limited action.
| SF Pass Defense |
The 49ers pass rush was effective at times, and they sacked Bulger four times. The secondary came up with a couple of INTs in the second quarter that set up two 49ers TDs.