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Rams go for two straight against skidding 49ers

Nov 18, 2007 - 11:26 AM St Louis (1-8) at San Francisco (2-7) Sunday 4:15 pm EST

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Not many teams are going worse than the St. Louis Rams. Their next opponent is one of them.

Coming off their first win of the season, the Rams look to make it two straight victories against the reeling San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

The 49ers turned in a woeful performance in a 24-0 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night - their seventh consecutive defeat.

The final scored reflected the overall dominance of Seattle, which limited San Francisco to just six first downs overall and one in the first half.

Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, was 11-of-23 for just 102 yards as the 49ers went three-and-out on their first five possessions and never had the ball more than five plays until midway through the fourth quarter.

"We're all going to have to look inward to come out of this," Smith said. "We have to fight our way out. There is absolutely no question that I could have been better. Without a doubt, I was not good enough."

Neither were Smith's teammates. The 49ers had a chance to get back in the game, but running back Frank Gore was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 at the Seahawks 1-yard line midway through the third quarter.

During their seven-game skid, San Francisco has registered just 67 points. In nine games this season, the 49ers have scored as many as many 20 points once - in the season opener vs. Arizona.

St. Louis broke out of its own malaise with a surprising 37-29 victory over New Orleans, snapping the Saints' four-game winning streak.

The Rams had scored seven points or fewer four times in dropping their first eight games, but the combination of the bye week and the return of a healthy Steven Jackson appeared to revive their offense.

Jackson rushed for a touchdown and threw for one while quarterback Marc Bulger added a pair of scoring passes as St. Louis built a commanding 34-7 lead.

"It's one win. We still have the record we have," Rams coach Scott Linehan said. "It does give us confidence in that this is a second season for us, an eight-game season. We're focusing on that and not what happened in the first eight even though they all count."

In Week Two, San Francisco pulled out a 17-16 win at St. Louis despite being outgained by a 2-to-1 margin and managing just eight first downs.