Sep 16, 2007, 20:36 GMT
St. Louis, MO - Just days after losing his mother, Frank Gore rushed for a pair of touchdowns to guide the San Francisco 49ers past the St. Louis Rams, 17-16, in an NFC West showdown.
Joe Nedney hit the game-deciding field goal with 3:28 on the clock, and the 49ers (2-0) were able to escape when Jeff Wilkins' 56-yard try came up just short with time winding down.
San Francisco is 2-0 for the first time since 1998.
Gore's mother, Liz, died on Wednesday after battling a lengthy illness. After both of his touchdown runs, the second-year back out of Miami pointed to the sky in tribute. Gore finished with 81 yards on 20 attempts.
'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. For my team and I know that my mom and the Man above are watching over me, so I would be all right. I had to get my mind right. The first couple of series, I was kind of down, but I made the decision to play, so I had to play hard with my team.'
Alex Smith was 11-for-17 for 126 yards in a winning cause, and Darrell Jackson hauled in three passes for 61 yards.
Marc Bulger went 24-of-41 for 368 yards with a touchdown for St. Louis (0-2). Isaac Bruce had eight receptions for 145 yards.
'We haven't finished a game in two weeks,' said Rams head coach Scott Linehan. 'We need to start finishing up those games.'
Linehan also said afterwards that Bulger had sore ribs as a result of being sacked six times during the game.
The Rams took advantage of an early Niners miscue to assume command. San Francisco halted St. Louis' opening drive, but Brandon Williams muffed the ensuing punt and the Rams recovered. Six plays later, Bulger and Torry Holt connected for a 12-yard TD completion for a 7-0 edge.
San Francisco got a short field to work with thanks to back-to-back penalties on the Rams' special teams late in the opening quarter. The 49ers capitalized, tying the game on the first play of the second stanza on Gore's one-yard run.
The Rams responded with an 11-play march, capped by Wilkins' 27-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead. Wilkins added a 29-yarder with under two minutes to play to give St. Louis a 13-7 halftime advantage.
San Francisco rolled the dice on fourth down early in the third quarter, and it paid off in a big way. Gore got the call on 4th-and-1 from the opponent's 43, broke through the line to gain the first down, then shed all would-be tacklers before rumbling to pay dirt.
Rookie Clifton Ryan came up with a big defensive play early in the fourth to set up a St. Louis score. The Michigan State product stripped Smith of the ball as the signal caller tried to get off a pass, then corralled the fumble to set the home team up at the San Francisco 41. The offense was unable to produce, but Wilkins nailed a 53-yard field goal to give the Rams a 16-14 lead.
The St. Louis defense held on the following possession, but Dante Hall fumbled the punt to set the Niners up deep in Rams territory. Nedney connected from 40 yards out moments later for a 17-16 San Francisco lead.
St. Louis mounted one last attack in the closing minutes, and moved down to the Niners' 38 on a 14-yard completion from Bulger to Bruce on 3rd-and-17. Wilkins tried to put his team in front with a 56-yard field goal, but the attempt fell just shy to give San Francisco the win.
'We can't have opportunities and squander them like we did,' Linehan said. 'You have to give credit to San Francisco. They capitalized on their opportunities, and it won the game for them.'
Game Notes
San Francisco ended with just 186 total yards, compared to 392 for St. Louis...Holt ended with five catches for 74 yards...Attendance was 65,295...The Niners have won four of the last five meetings with the Rams.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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