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| Boldin came up big for SF in their win. Photo Credit: Kelley L Cox/USA Today Sports |
Anquan Boldin had 94 yards receiving, including a touchdown grab as he and the 49ers came back to defeat the Rams 31-17 on Monday Night in St. Louis.
By: Michael Hanley
This victory for the 49ers (4-2) pulls them within half a game of the Arizona Cardinals for the top spot in the NFC West.
The Rams (1-4) came out storming on the first drive as they drove the ball steadily down the field with a balanced attack of run and pass. It was helped by two critical penalties committed by the 49ers defense but St. Louis took advantage of both and capped the drive with a one yard touchdown run by Benny Cunningham to give the Rams an early 7-0 lead. It was the exact start the team needed especially against a more formidable and talented 49ers team.
Later in the first quarter St. Louis again drove down the field off a turnover courtesy off their defense. Davis once again sliced up the San Francisco defense with his precision passing. He connected with Lance Kendricks from 22 yards out to get out to a surprising 14-0 lead.
San Francisco would finally show some life on offense as they were able to get a 54 yard field made by Phil Dawson to cut the deficit to 14-3. They desperately needed something to spark them back into this game and this drive somewhat did that.
In what looked like a drive that would yield nothing, the 49ers got a huge throw from Kaepernick to Brandon Lloyd who went 80 yards for the touchdown just before the half. It swung momentum that was badly needed for San Francisco to turn the tide for themselves.
It wiped away what was a listless and sloppy first half by the team overall. For the Rams, they played a terrific first 29 minutes of the first half until that last drive where the secondary inexplicably let Lloyd get behind the coverage and get wide open for an easy touchdown.
Kaepernick and company would continue their hot play as they efficiently drove down the field and had a highlight throw by their young quarterback to Boldin from 11 yard out to give themselves a lead for the first time tonight at 17-14 in the third quarter. Kaepernick would have a banner night as he threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns.
The 49ers would keep on trucking as they added another seven points to their lead on a 78 yard march down the field which clearly wore down the Rams defense. Michael Crabtree caught the 32 yard pass from Kaepernick to make it a 24-14 lead in the late stages of the third quarter.
St Louis would inch back into the game briefly with a late field goal that made it 24-17 and put some game pressure on the 49ers as a whole. The Rams defense got another stop and gave Davis and the offense a chance with less than a minute left.
Dontae Johnson would prove to be the most unlikely of all the 49ers to be the one to close out the game for them but it happened courtesy of his 20 yard pick six off of Davis that capped the night for San Francisco. It would also end what was a very uneven night for Austin Davis. He finished 21/42 for 236 yards, one touchdown and one interception
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