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Hill's bomb to Morgan helps 49ers sink Rams

Dec 21, 2008 - 11:49 PM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Rams have perfected the art of losing.

Shaun Hill hit Josh Morgan for a go-ahead score late as the San Francisco 49ers rallied for a 17-16 win over the Rams on Sunday.

San Francisco (6-9) rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit as Hill hit Isaac Bruce for a 3-yard score before Morgan made a leaping catch for a 48-yard TD with 1:22 left.

Hill finished 18-of-34 for 216 yards.

Marc Bulger threw a touchdown pass and Josh Brown kicked three field goals for St. Louis, which has lost nine straight for the first time since 1991. The Rams outgained San Francisco, 343-273, and forced four turnovers, but much like last week, St. Louis found a way to lose.

St. Louis (2-13) allowed Seattle to score 10 points in the final 2:47 of a 23-20 loss last Sunday.

"We gave the game away," St. Louis interim head coach Jim Haslett said.

"I don't know if we're cursed," said Rams running back Steven Jackson, who ran for 108 yards on 32 carries. "But you know, I mean, it hurts. It hurts when you feel like you've outplayed your opponent literally for almost eight quarters going back to last week."

Hill shook off three interceptions and capped a 11-play, 80-yard drive with a 3-yard strike to Bruce, who became just the fifth player in NFL history to reach 1,000 catches.

A former Ram, Bruce joins an exclusive list that includes Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown.

"It was a great game in the last quarter," Bruce said. "I'm very, very honored."

On the next possession, Hill lobbed up a deep ball that Morgan made a leaping catch over Bruce and Rams safety O.J. Atogwe with 1:22 left for the winning score.

"I don't know if I've ever played that badly, especially for that long," Hill said. "I can't explain it. It goes like sometimes, but everybody hung in there."

"I just thought 'Make the play,'" Morgan said. "It shows what (interim) coach (Mike) Singletary said, that we took another big step."

St. Louis tried to respond, as Donnie Avery made a spectacular catch for 17 yards on 4th-and-9. The rookie tapped his right foot in before falling out of bounds at the St. Louis 38-yard line with 25 seconds left.

The catch was reviewed and upheld. But two plays later, Tarell Brown intercepted Bulger to seal the win.

St. Louis carried a 13-3 lead into the locker room on the strength of a 30-yard TD pass from Bulger to Keenan Burton and two field goals from Brown. Bulger finished 19-of-36 for 227 yards.

Playing without Frank Gore (sprained ankle), the 49ers ran for just 83 yards, but managed to improve to 4-4 under Singletary. Meanwhile, St. Louis fell to 2-9 under Haslett.