After getting only 11 carries last week, Frank Gore never made a public stink about it. Coach Jim Harbaugh noted he wasn’t the only unhappy player after the San Francisco 49ers lost their second straight game.
But Gore’s touches went way up, and yards, too. And the offense kicked into gear in a 35-11 rout of the St. Louis Rams on Thursday night.
Gore’s first 100-yard game of the year more than doubled his output from the first three games. It helped the 49ers put their foot down without some of their biggest stars.
Colin Kaepernick threw two touchdown passes and the defense stepped up, too.
Anquan Boldin had five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, and Gore had 153 yards on 20 carries and a 34-yard score for San Francisco (2- 2), which was outscored 46-10 the previous two games. NaVorro Bowman had two of the 49ers’ five sacks with a strip leading to Anthony Dixon’s fourth-quarter scoring run.
The Rams (1-3) had an overtime win and tie against San Francisco last year, and took the early lead Thursday before falling flat. Greg Zuerlein banged in a 40-yard field goal off the right upright to end a nine-game scoring drought in the first quarter, but the 49ers answered with 28 straight points.
St. Louis was held to 188 total yards and was completely stuffed on the run, with 18 yards on 19 carries.
The 49ers came close to a Super Bowl title in February and regained their footing against the team that gave them the most trouble last season. Minus cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and linebackers Patrick Willis and Aldon Smith, they quieted a raucous, hopeful crowd, sending all but a few thousand home early.
Kaepernick had no touchdown passes and four interceptions the previous two weeks and completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes. He was 15 for 23 for 167 yards.
Sam Bradford was 19 for 41 for 202 yards and an interception and has been sacked 11 times the last two games after the Rams allowed none the previous four games.
After mustering just 25 yards in the first quarter, the 49ers took a noisy crowd out of it in the second, averaging more than 11 yards per snap while piling up 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less