Heading into Week 10, the 49ers would face a division foe for the first time since Week 1 when they opened the season with a loss in Seattle. Coming off a BYE and in need of a win, San Francisco would need an overtime thriller in order to keep it a tight race within the NFC West. Entering the day at an even record of 4-4, the Rams opened the game with a nice drive led by their former Heisman Trophy winning Quarterback Sam Bradford, resulting in a field-goal. 49er QB Troy Smith who is also a former recipient of the Heisman (2006), was named the starter on Friday just days before the two teams met.
Similar to his counterpart, Smith was sure to get things going right away, as he connected with his tight-end Vernon Davis for 40-yards on San Francisco's first offensive play of the game. After marching all the way down to the Rams 21-yard line, a number of sacks knocked 49er kicker Joe Nedney out of field-goal range, ending in a punt. The 49er defense seemed to have made a stop of their own by intercepting a pass from Bradford, but would be erased due to an off-sides call. The self inflected penalties plagued what looked like an easy visit to the red-zone, but wouldn't haunt SF all that much, as they were able to get on the board a drive later thanks to another deep pass to Davis on the first play of the drive, this time a 65-yarder which set up an easy 1-yard Touchdown ran in by Frank Gore.
The 49ers appeared to be on their way to an early 14-3 lead when Smith found Davis in the end-zone, but the TD was whipped out on a delay of game call, resulting in a FG. Sam Bradford would then begin to utilize his young wide-receiver Danny Amendola who has looked a lot like a poor man's Wes Welker given how he's been used. The two would eventually connect in the end-zone, tying the game at 10-10 heading into the half. A slow start to the second half would see an array of punts before Stephen Jackson finally found an opening for a 10-yard TD run. San Francisco would inch closer with a field-goal, before making a stop on defense that set up for some late game heroics.
While traveling all the way into Rams territory, Smith threw two touchdowns, but were both negated by penalties. Before you knew it, what began at the 20-yard line was soon brought back to mid-field. However, a big 4th down conversion 18-yards out would save both the game and quite possibly the season, setting up a go-ahead Touchdown caught by the 49ers' Michael Crabtree with 2-minutes left in the game. Those 2-minutes remaining would be all Bradford needed to get his team in field-goal range, as St. Louis kicker Josh Brown chipped in a 33-yarder, sending it into overtime. After winning the coin toss and selecting to receive, the Rams failed to convert a first down, giving Troy Smith a perfect chance to lead his team to victory in only his second 49er start. Moving his team down field some 55 yards, Smith would do just that, setting his kicker up for a game winning 29-yard field-goal.
Noteworthy & Week 11 Preview - The back-to-back wins for the 49ers were their first consecutive wins this year, and featured a career high in the passing department for Troy Smith, who finished the game with 356 passing yards to go along with a touchdown. Frank Gore totaled 87 yards rushing and a Touchdown on 22 carries. Week 11 will see the vising Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have been one of the bigger stories in the NFL this year, carrying a surprising record of 6-3. Even more surprising, the Bucs have already surpassed their 2009 overall record when they finished the season dead last in the NFC South, at 3-13. Coming off a close win against the Rams, I expect to see a similar game this week, with the 49ers edging out another win at home.
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