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Hill, 49ers stomp Rams

Nov 17, 2008 - 1:38 AM By Tom Kent PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- The San Francisco 49ers salvaged some late-season dignity against the St. Louis Rams.

Shaun Hill threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another as the 49ers took advantage of three first-half turnovers to defeat the hapless Rams, 35-16, in a battle for the bottom of the division.

With the victory, the Niners snapped a six-game losing streak that included the firing of their head coach, a public outburst by interim head coach Mike Singletary, and a quarterback benching.

"We have to enjoy this one," Hill said. "It's been a long since we had this feeling. At the same time we need to keep learning from the things we did wrong and keep going forward."

Running back Frank Gore rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries for San Francisco, which, despite its record, moved into second place in the woeful NFC West.

"We talked about coming out fast and, executing, and finishing," Singletary said. "We were excited about getting up early."

Hill, who started the season as the No. 3 quarterback behind J.T. O'Sullivan and Alex Smith, was making just his second start of the year. Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, Hill threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers came up short on the last play of the game in the 29-24 defeat.

Against the defenseless Rams, however, Hill was impressive, leading five straight scoring drives in the first half, all of which resulted in touchdowns to give San Francisco an overwhelming 35-3 lead at intermission.

"Shaun Hill is a good quarterback who can make some throws," Singletary said. "He's continuing to gain more confidence and the offense is gaining confidence in him."

After taking an early 14-3 lead, 49ers defensive lineman Parys Haralson recovered quarterback Marc Bulger's fumble on the Rams 16-yard line. Four plays later, Gore plunged in from 1 yard out to give the 49ers a 21-3 lead.

"I was proud of the offense and the defense got some turnovers," Hill said. "Anytime you can cap off drives with touchdowns, that's when you get the score going."

Bulger, who was benched after the Rams fell behind, 40-0, in the first half of last week's embarrassing 47-3 loss to the New York Jets, then threw two more interceptions that would result in touchdown drives and give San Francisco the insurmountable 35-3 halftime lead.

"It was terrible," Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett said. "You turn the ball over three times in the first half and then the defense does nothing to stop them."

St. Louis also fired their head coach in midseason, leaving the daunting task of rescuing the year to Haslett. However, the Rams continue to regress, having lost four consecutive games.

Bulger managed to hook up with Dane Looker for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 1:56 left in the game for St. Louis, which has lost its last two games by a total of 63 points and been outscored, 75-3, in the first half.

"We were well prepared schematically," Bulger said. "We just didn't execute. We played poorly all the way around. It was not their (coaches') fault, it was out fault."