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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Trent Green and coach Mike Martz shouldn't
worry so much. If they get the ball to Marshall Faulk, the St.
Louis Rams will be just fine.
|  | | Trent Green filled in for Kurt Warner and threw for 310 yards against San Francisco. |
Faulk caught two touchdown passes, including a 16-yard pass from
Green for the go-ahead score with 10:21 to play, and rushed for two
more TDs as the Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-24 Sunday.
St. Louis (7-1) rebounded from its first defeat and the loss of
MVP Kurt Warner, who wore a headset and a cast on the sideline
after breaking his finger last week at Kansas City. Green fought
off a huge case of the jitters to lead the Rams to 17 straight
points to end the game.
"I didn't want to be the one to mess things up here," Green
said. "We've had a lot of success the last season and a half. I
was trying to do everything perfect (early on), and you can't play
the game that way."
Ordinarily, a comfortable win over a 2-7 opponent wouldn't be
cause for much celebration. But given the adversity St. Louis faced
this week with a quarterback change and a tuneup on its dismal
defense, first-year coach Martz was relieved and ecstatic.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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This game was close until the second half. The Rams scored 20 points in the
second half to pull away.
What was significant in the second half was the improved play of the Rams'
defense. They seemed to play much more aggressively after the intermission.
The marked improvement of St. Louis' D coincides with Bud Carson's presence.
The Rams utilized the blitz extensively and played with greater intensity.
Rams quarterback Trent Green
(22-of-39, 310 yards) likewise looked more comfortable in the second half.
Marshall Faulk was impressive
again for the Rams with another excellent all-purpose game.
For the 49ers, Terrell Owens
(eight catches, 115 yards) continued his fine play.
As one would expect in a Rams' game, this was a shootout in the first half
until the Rams' defense made some stops in the second half and allowed the
Rams' offense to pull away.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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"I felt this was the best game we've played since I've been
here," said Martz, who turned his defense over to newly hired
69-year-old assistant Bud Carson for the game. "We looked like we
were having fun again."
In his first NFL start since 1998, Green didn't look much like
Warner until it counted most. He misfired long and wide on several
early throws, and the Rams trailed 17-14 at halftime.
Green, who was 22-of-39 for 310 yards, finally got things going
with a big assist from Faulk, who had 144 total yards while tying
the team record with his four TDs. Faulk shook off a sore knee and
a partially separated shoulder to dominate the 49ers.
"When you play in the trenches, there's not an awful lot you
can cry about," Faulk said. "I can't remember the last time I was
100 percent. I felt like if I could continue to be productive, I
was going to play."
But the Super Bowl champs piled up 447 yards -- 283 after
halftime -- and shut out San Francisco in the last 23 minutes. Martz
said defensive coordinator Peter Giunta continued to call the
plays, but Carson had the final say.
For one game at least, the split strategy worked.
"We've been playing (Carson's) defense, but as the years pass,
you get away from some of the basic things," linebacker London
Fletcher said. "He made a tremendous difference in the way we
played defense."
Instead of a high-scoring duel between two prolific offenses,
fans saw punts, penalties, dropped passes and frustration. San
Francisco started strong while St. Louis struggled, but the Rams
roared to the finish while the 49ers faded.
St. Louis won its 12th straight NFC West game and beat the 49ers
for the fourth straight time.
The 49ers lost their fourth straight despite another strong game
from Jeff Garcia, who was 26-of-44 for 244 yards and two TDs. He
even led San Francisco with 51 yards rushing. Owens caught eight
passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
"I have no doubt in my mind that we're making strides, but
we've got to play four quarters of football to prove that," San
Francisco coach Steve Mariucci said.
Faulk, the NFL leader in total yards from scrimmage, rushed 19
times for 83 yards and caught six passes for 61 yards. Isaac Bruce,
who had eight catches for 126 yards, tied Henry Ellard's Rams
record with 26 100-yard receiving games.
Green led a 78-yard scoring drive late in the third quarter,
hitting Faulk with a 19-yard TD pass that tied the game. The 49ers
tried to call a timeout before the play, but Green, seeing San
Francisco's confusion, got a quick snap and hit Faulk for an easy
score.
Tied 24-24, the game turned when Charlie Garner's 75-yard
touchdown run early in the fourth quarter was called back on a
holding penalty against center Jeremy Newberry. Az-Zahir Hakim
returned San Francisco's resulting punt 30 yards, and Faulk slipped
into the end zone four plays later to catch an expertly thrown pass
by Green.
"That lost touchdown really hurt us, but you can't blame it on
one particular play," Garcia said. "We just didn't score enough
points late. St. Louis scored, and we couldn't match them like we
did in the first three quarters."
Garner scored on a 4-yard run just 95 seconds into the game.
Game notes
The Rams extended their league record by scoring more than
30 points in their 14th straight regular-season game. ... In the
first quarter, San Francisco successfully challenged an apparent
interception by Jones. ... Travis Jervey's 68-yard kickoff return
was his only action of the game. He suffered a broken collarbone on
the play.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
San Francisco Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 ESPN's Andrea Kremer catches up with Marshall Faulk after the Rams' win over San Francisco.
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Mike Martz says the Rams got a big win against the 49ers on Sunday.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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