The San Francisco 49ers defense got beat early by unfamiliar plays and Austin Davis calling the signals.
“No disrespect, but I didn’t know who their quarterback was,” linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. “We got some good pressure on him. That helped us.”
Davis was sacked five times, twice each by Brooks and Dan Skuta. They carried the day, keeping the St. Louis Rams offense stalled, and giving Colin Kaepernick a chance to warm up in a 31-17 victory on Monday night.
Kaepernick threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns for the 49ers, who erased an early 14-point deficit. The defense stepped up again when Dontae Johnson returned an interception return for a TD in the final minute to seal it.
“Talk about an opportunity, I had the chance to make a play,” Johnson said.
Brandon Lloyd, Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree each caught a scoring pass for the 49ers (4-2), who have won three in a row. The 49ers permitted one first down on St. Louis’ first six possessions of the second half.
Kaepernick found Boldin zipping across the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass, capping a go-ahead 80-yard drive to start the second half. As the Niners were taking the 17-14 lead, several fans in the upper deck unfurled a large banner above the videoboard on the opposite end of the stadium as part of ongoing protests about the Michael Brown shooting in suburban Ferguson in August.
San Francisco then added to its advantage when Kaepernick connected with Crabtree for a 32-yard score with 13 seconds left in the third.
The Rams had one last chance to tie the game, but Johnson returned an interception 20 yards for the clinching score with 53 seconds to go.
It was a disappointing conclusion for St. Louis, which had 151 yards and a 14-0 lead after the first quarter on Benny Cunningham’s 1-yard run and a 22-yard touchdown reception for Lance Kendricks.
The 49ers scuffled to a 1-2 start coming off a third straight appearance in the NFC championship game, but have won 13 of their last 14 in October.
Davis was 21 of 42 for 236 yards. He threw for 300 yards each of the last two games with six touchdown passes.
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