On a day that seen both the Rams and 49ers almost kick more punts (20) than score points in the first half, the 49ers would come out victorious in what would be the final game of the regular season. With the Rams playing for nothing other than a potential first overall pick in next year's draft with a loss, the 49ers on the other hand had a winning season at stake. With the win, the 49ers improve to 8-8 and complete their first non-losing season since 2002. But before the game was officially over, the top two offensive players on San Francisco's offense had historic days.
49er Tight-End Vernon Davis finished the day with 6 catches for 89 yards and 1 touchdown. The lone touchdown put Vernon Davis atop the record books with San Diego Chargers' Antonio Gates for most touchdown catches in a single season by a tight-end, with 13. The 73-yard bomb from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis also marked the longest play and touchdown of the year for the 49er offense. It also just happened to be the longest reception of Davis' career. After VD's tied milestone, San Francisco running-back Frank Gore tied a long-standing franchise mark held by Joe Perry for most 100-yard games. Both Gore and Perry share the record with 20 career 100-yards games. Gore totaled 107 rushing yards to go along with 2 rushing touchdowns, giving him a career high 13 on the year.
Aside from the records set in the second half, neither team put up much of an offensive show in the first half, with San Francisco logging a season-low 52 first-half yards. However, they would finish the game with 329 total yards on offense. & Similar to last week, the defense put in work by getting to Rams quarterbacks Keith Null and Kyle Boller. Harassing him for a total of 8 sacks, highlighted by the 3.5 sacks defensive-end Justin Smith put up himself. The poor performance on the field by the Rams led to a displeased St. Louis crowd. The frustration was easily detected amongst the St. Louis faithful as they watched their team fall for the 15th time this season.
However, there was a brief applause as 49er wide-receiver and long time Rams great - Isaac Bruce took the field for the final play of his illustrious career. Even on the opposite side of the field, Bruce received an ovation larger than the one the team the Rams put on the field got. But it wasn't long before the chants of 'Bruuuce' transformed into 'Booo's'. The future Hall of Famer who was a fan favorite in St. Louis, ranks 2nd all-time in receiving yards, only behind the great Jerry Rice.
As the 49ers' season ends on a disappointing note not making it to the playoffs for yet another year, not all hope is lost for next year as Alex Smith has shown that he could lead this team to the playoffs if given another chance. One thing this 2009 San Francisco team failed to do, was win games on the road as they finished the season 2-6 away from Candle Stick Park. Both wins coming against division rivals Arizona and St. Louis during the first game of the season and the last. But as the season comes to an end, a new year brings new opportunity. With that being said, Cheers to a better season in 2010. Go 9ers!
Other 49er Notables: 49er QB Alex Smith finished the day with 222 passing yards and 1 touchdown on 17 of 28 attempts. 49er Full-Back Moran Norris scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard run in the 3rd quarter.
No comments:
Post a Comment