The 49ers (1-0) host the St. Louis Rams (0-1) at 3Com Park for a 1:00 PT kickoff. Tony Banks is the Rams' starter under Rich Brooks in his sixth-and-final year as head coach. Lawrence Phillips is the rookie back. Isaac Bruce is the WR1. The Rams come off a 23-13 home loss to the Bengals.
The 49ers come off the 27-11 home opener win over the Saints. Steve Young is the starter; Derek Loville is the lead back. Brent Jones is at tight end.[1][2]
The Rams visit 3Com Park at 0-1. Tony Banks is the second-year starter; Lawrence Phillips is the rookie back the franchise drafted with the sixth pick. The Sunday matchup is the kind of home game where the offensive line has the chance to define the September posture.
The 49ers' Sunday issue is the same as last week's: whether the offense produces explosive plays against an opponent whose defense is rebuilt. Rice caught five for 88 in the opener; the WR1 has not had a quiet opening month in five years.
Week 2 has the NFC West home rematch plus a slate where the early-season tiers are taking shape. The Cowboys opened 1-0 with Troy Aikman throwing two touchdowns. The Packers opened 1-0 with Brett Favre throwing three. Around the league the early stories are the Patriots' opening 1-0 and the Browns' first home opener as the Ravens. The 49ers' Sunday at 3Com is the only NFC West matchup of week two.
Through one game the 49ers sit at 1-0 with a plus 16 point differential. Young threw for 199 in the opener. Loville ran for 61. The defense produced three sacks. The Rams opened with Banks throwing for 159 yards in the Bengals loss. Phillips averaged 1.7 yards per carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 14-point home favorites. Stat worth watching today: Phillips' rookie debut at 3Com.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 1-0 | W1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-0 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 0-1 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 0-1 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 0-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 1-0 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 1-0 | W1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 1-0 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 0-1 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 0-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 1-0 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 1-0 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 1-0 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 0-1 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 0-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 1-0 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 1-0 | W1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 1-0 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 0-1 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 0-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 1-0 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 1-0 | W1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 1-0 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 0-1 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 1-0 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 0-1 | -- |
| Dallas Cowboys | 0-1 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 0-1 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 0-1 | L1 |
Steve Young threw for 138 yards, Derek Loville and Tommy Vardell each ran in a touchdown and the 49ers shut out the St. Louis Rams 34-0 at 3Com Park. Jerry Rice caught 7 for 99. The 49ers' defense produced five sacks of Tony Banks and held the Rams to 152 total yards. The 49ers led 24-0 at halftime. Lawrence Phillips ran for 15 yards on 9 carries in his rookie debut.[1][2]
The 49ers shut out the Rams 34-0 at 3Com Park. The first home shutout of the Seifert tenure since 1994. Derek Loville and Tommy Vardell both ran in touchdowns. Jerry Rice caught seven passes for 99. The defensive front produced five sacks of Tony Banks.
The Sunday at 3Com was the kind of home blowout where the offensive line gave Young a clean pocket on 18 dropbacks and the running game produced 145 yards on 35 carries. Lawrence Phillips, the rookie first-round pick, ran for 15 yards on 9 carries. The defensive secondary held Isaac Bruce to 52 receiving and forced one interception.
The 49ers walk away 2-0 with the road trip to Carolina on Sunday next. The home record is 2-0. The wire copy is going to spend the column on the road shutout posture. The film room is going to spend the week on the front rotation's five-sack afternoon.
49ers 34, Rams 0. Margin: plus 34. Record: 2-0.
A 34-0 home shutout of the Rams. The 49ers improve to 2-0.
How it unfolded
Young opened with a touchdown drive ending in a Loville short rush. A Wade Richey field goal made it 10-0. Vardell's rushing touchdown made it 17-0. A Young touchdown to Stokes pushed it to 24-0 at the half. The third quarter saw a Young touchdown to Brent Jones to make it 31-0. A closing fourth-quarter Richey field goal made the final 34-0.
The turning point
The first-quarter Loville touchdown. With the 49ers driving from their own 35 and the offense facing third-and-three at the Rams' 8, Loville broke through the right tackle for the score. The 7-0 cushion put the home team in pressure-the-passer posture from the second possession forward.
By the numbers
Young 15-of-18 for 138; the cleanest passing percentage of his recent calendar. Loville 49 on 12 carries with the touchdown. Vardell 44 on 17 carries with a touchdown plus 6 catches for 31. Rice 7 for 99. Defensively the front produced five sacks (Bryant Young 2, Stubblefield 1.5, Junior Bryant 1.5); the secondary held the Rams to 152 total yards.
Personnel watch
The defensive front looks the closest to its 1994 Super Bowl form across the first two games. Bryant Young has 4 sacks across the first two. Vardell's 6 catches for 31 was the fullback's most-productive receiving line in two years. Lawrence Phillips' rookie debut was held to 1.7 yards per carry. The shutout is the franchise's first home shutout in three years.
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 15/18 | 138 | 0 | 0 | |
| Elvis Grbac | 6/12 | 86 | 0 | 0 | |
| STL | |||||
| Tony Banks | 6/17 | 69 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jamie Martin | 3/4 | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Walsh | 2/6 | 13 | 0 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Derek Loville | 12 | 49 | 1 | 12 |
| Tommy Vardell | 17 | 44 | 1 | 7 |
| Dexter Carter | 3 | 15 | 1 | 11 |
| Steve Young #8 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 11 |
| Anthony Lynn | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Elvis Grbac | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeff Brohm | 3 | -4 | 0 | -1 |
| STL | ||||
| Lawrence Phillips | 9 | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Harold Green | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| Greg Robinson | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Derrick Harris | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Tony Banks | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Sean Landeta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Jerry Rice #80 | 7 | 99 | 0 | 39 |
| J.J. Stokes | 3 | 62 | 0 | 28 |
| Tommy Vardell | 6 | 31 | 0 | 13 |
| Brent Jones #84 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 12 |
| Derek Loville | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| STL | ||||
| Isaac Bruce | 4 | 52 | 0 | 22 |
| Aaron Laing | 2 | 25 | 0 | 22 |
| Harold Green | 2 | 15 | 0 | 9 |
| Jermaine Ross | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Troy Drayton | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Derrick Harris | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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