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Wilkins, Rams come up short against 49ers

Sep 16, 2007 - 10:45 PM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Jeff Wilkins didn't make his last kick and Joe Nedney did to lead the San Francisco 49ers to victory.

Wilkins missed a 56-yard field goal attempt with just over one minute to play after Nedney converted a 40-yarder two minutes earlier as the 49ers posted a 17-16 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

Dante Hall fumbled a punt and the 49ers (2-0) recovered at the St. Louis 26 but stalled on offense. Nedney converted from 40-yards to make it 17-16 but the Rams got another chance.

"It was a bonehead play by me," said Hall of his fumble. "I just wanted to make a play. I should have just fair caught it. I knew they were coming down on me. It was just a total mess-up. I really have no excuse."

St. Louis got back the ball at the 20 with 1:53 to go and was faced with a 4th-and-3 from the San Francisco 38. The Rams (0-2) called on Wilkins, who had already made three field goals, for a 56-yarder, but his kick fell short and the 49ers ran out the clock.

"When I hit it I felt 'OK, it's got a shot'," said Wilkins who drilled a 53-yarder earlier. "Right away I could tell if I miss hit it. When I hit it, it felt the same as the 53 (yarder). I was staring at it pretty good and hoping it would crawl over, obviously, it didn't. Anytime you don't do your job it stinks. It didn't go through, so it stinks."

Leading 13-7 midway through the third quarter, the Rams moved from their 13-yard line to San Francisco's 28 in just five plays as Bulger completed three passes for 52 yards.

On the first play, Bulger hit Torry Holt over the middle and it looked like the receiver would bring the ball inside the 10. However, Nate Clements came up from behind and punched the ball out of Holt's hands, causing it to roll through the end zone for a touchback.

"It's something I've been working on in practice," Clements said. "I kept running and never gave up on the play. I saw the ball and punched it out."

"What happened to Torry today I've seen (Clements) do that so many times," Rams tight end Randy McMichael said. "He's great player. He's a playmaker."

San Francisco did not waste the opportunity as Frank Gore scored his second touchdown of the day on a 43-yard run on 4th-and-1 to give the 49ers a 14-13 lead.

"A couple of guys had a shot at him," Rams nose tackle Clifton Ryan said. "He is an All-Pro running back and it takes more than one guy to bring him down."

"They had a hand on my leg," Gore said. "I kept pumping and got down to the secondary. I made one move on the safety and that was it."

After being forced to punt on their first drive, the Rams caught a break when Chris Massey recovered a muff by 49ers returner Brandon Williams on the San Francisco 25. Six plays later, Bulger drilled a 12-yard strike to Holt to put the Rams on top 7-0.

San Francisco scored on its third possession of the game with some help from the Rams. Newly signed cornerback Darius Vinnett interfered with Williams trying to catch a punt, giving the 49ers possession at the Rams 39.

Alex Smith completed a 10-yard pass to Darrell Jackson and a 19-yarder to Vernon Davis, moving the ball to the Rams 7. Gore scored three plays later on a 1-yard run to tie the score, 7-7.

The Rams moved the ball well in the second quarter but couldn't get in the end zone and had two settle for two short field goals from Wilkins - one from 27 yards and the other from 29 yards.

The Rams' inability to finish drives was one of the major stories of the game. Bulger threw for 368 yards and Isaac Bruce had eight catches for 145 yards but St. Louis managed just the one TD.

"It doesn't take a blind man to see that we need to score points," said McMichael who caught two passes for 40 yards. "We have too many offensive weapons to come away with three points when we're inside the 15, 25 yard line. We have to find a way to get the ball in the end zone."

Gore had 81 yards on 20 carries and Smith was just 11-of-17 for 126 yards for the 49ers, who sacked Bulger six times.

"I know we can get a lot better," Smith said. "I know it. I think everyone knows it. That's the scary thing, 2-0 and we have a long way to go for improvement. We need to keep getting consistent in our execution and that is the key. You know, we are real close."