Been There 49ers 10 – Rams 13

San Francisco 49ers, 10- St Louis Rams, 13 Week 9

For those of you who sailed through your childhoods on the winning little league or Pop Warner teams…or made a name for yourself in junior’s tennis…or caught the eye of the college soccer scout when you were in middle school – this retelling of Sunday’s game is not for you. Instead, it is for our brethren – those hopeful souls whose spirits were crushed by taking a third strike at the bottom of the ninth or kicking a ball that drifted just beyond the net or throwing up the half-court, potential game-winning shot with one second left that sailed over the backboard instead of finding the net. We know what it takes to be a star…because we have, at the expense of our own self-esteems and disruption of our quiet mental states, investigated all too many of the results which led us in the opposite direction.

The 2-5 Rams came into this contest in desperate need of a win. The 4-3 Niners were looking to recover from the pre-bye week drubbing at the hands of the Broncos. San Francisco’s first possession was exploratory – passes were attempted and Frank Gore was trotted out to test the run. Nothing about either option highlighted a weakness in the Ram’s defense. In fact, were it not for the 25 yards of penalties St. Louis incurred, this drive might have died mid-field. Leave it to Phil Dawson to put the cherry on our half-melted sundae with a 34-yard field goal to make the game 3-0. Imitation proved to be the Ram’s best course as they responded with a Greg Zuelein field goal of their own late in the first quarter to even it up at 3-3.

The 49er play-of-the-day was made early in the second quarter when Antoine Bethea intercepted an Austin Davis pass intended for Tavon Austin at the St. Louis 35 yard line. Captain K leapt on that opportunity like a bored Doberman who just found a fresh chew toy. With passes to Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin for the TD, San Francisco took a 10-3 lead. Late in the second, Perrish Cox’s interception of a pass intended for Kenny Britt gave the Niners the ball but did not result in a scoring drive. With 2:06 left on the clock, the Niners were again headed for the end zone when St. Louis’ Eugene Sims slipped his blocker and not only sacked Kaepernick for a 14-yard loss but forced a fumble. The Niners, always a polite bunch, had returned St. Louis’ earlier gift. Three plays later, Austin Davis connected with Kenny Britt to make the score 10-10.

A bout of the mid-field allergy affected both teams in the third quarter. What is that you say? It’s when neither team can put together a drive to get beyond the 50 yard line. In this La Brea Tar Pits version of offensive forward momentum, St. Louis looked like the 2 and 5 team they were…and San Francisco empathized by mirroring them in their difficulties. Thank heavens the LEVIathan has excellent facilities and we were not forced to watch the tortured struggles.

The fourth quarter…and a textbook example of very bad field position…proved the undoing of the Niners this week. St. Louis’ first drive of the last quarter took them to the SF 48. Ram’s punter Johnny Hekker pinned the Niners at their 11 with an excellent effort. Niner’s penalties and a 4-yard sack forced a punt from the SF 6 which was recovered at the 29. The SF 29. A 23-yard punt. We looked on through gaps between our fingers and feared the worst. Credit San Francisco’s defense for holding the Rams to only a field goal to put us in the hole, 10-13.

After two more inconsequential series, there was still time. The hopeful leaned forward in their ergonomically correct stadium seats to watch the Niners make their final assault. With 3:11 remaining and starting at their 12, Colin Kaepernick picked holes in the St. Louis defense using short passes to Stevie Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore. St. Louis did all they could to help and encourage by committing 33 yards-worth of penalties. 87 yards later it came down to 3rd and 1 at the St. Louis 1-yard line.

The call…with 9 seconds left: Quarterback sneak. Would it be lashes or laurels? The snap. The lunge. The stuff. The fumble. St. Louis came up with the ball. So close. So very close.