49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens

Steve McNair threw for 214 yards without a touchdown and the Baltimore Ravens beat the 49ers 9-7 at Candlestick Park. Trent Dilfer threw a 42-yard touchdown to Bryan Gilmore and an interception. Frank Gore ran for 52 yards. The Ravens' Matt Stover made three field goals. The 49ers' offense produced 187 total yards. The 49ers fell to 2-3 with the loss.[1][2][3]

Matt Stover made three field goals Sunday afternoon at Candlestick. The Baltimore Ravens beat the 49ers 9-7 in the kind of grind-it-out home loss where the Ravens' AFC-North-style defense dominated the line of scrimmage and produced exactly the kind of low-scoring score the franchise has produced for the last decade.

Trent Dilfer threw a 42-yard touchdown to Bryan Gilmore (the WR's only catch of the day). Frank Gore ran for 52. Vernon Davis caught two for 14. Steve McNair did not throw a touchdown but the Ravens' running game and defense did the rest. The 49ers managed 187 total yards.

2-3. The kind of home loss where the offense produced one big play and nothing else. The bye comes next week. Then a road game at the Giants in Week 7. The kind of mid-October stretch where the year's competitive identity, with Smith still out and Dilfer struggling, has gone the wrong direction.

Ravens 9, 49ers 7. Margin: -2. Five-game record: 2-3, -39 differential.

* Steve McNair: 29-of-43 for 214, 0 TD, 0 INTs.
* Willis McGahee: 22 carries for 88.
* Matt Stover: 3 FGs.
* Trent Dilfer: 12-of-19 for 126, 1 TD (42y to Gilmore), 1 INT.
* Frank Gore: 16 carries for 52.
* Bryan Gilmore: 1 catch for 42, 1 TD.
* 49ers offense: 187 total yards.
* 49ers 2-3; Ravens 3-2.

A 9-7 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Candlestick. The 49ers fall to 2-3 heading into the bye.

How it unfolded

The game's lone touchdown came in the second quarter when Trent Dilfer hit Bryan Gilmore on a 42-yard scoring pass to give the 49ers a 7-3 lead. The Ravens had kicked a Matt Stover field goal earlier. Stover added two more field goals in the second half (one in the third quarter, one in the fourth) to push the Ravens ahead 9-7. The 49ers' final possessions ended without scoring chances.

The turning point

Matt Stover's two second-half field goals. With the 49ers up 7-3 at halftime and the Ravens' defense controlling the line of scrimmage, the two scoring drives ending in field goals gave Baltimore the late lead the 49ers' offense could not respond to.

By the numbers

Dilfer 126 passing on 19 attempts with a TD and an INT. Gore 52 rushing on 16 carries. Vernon Davis 14 receiving on 2 catches. Bryan Gilmore 42 receiving on the lone TD catch. McNair 214 on 43 attempts with no TDs. Willis McGahee 88 rushing.

Personnel watch

Trent Dilfer's second start, the kind of game where the veteran journeyman produced one big throw and nothing else. The Bryan Gilmore touchdown his only catch of the day. The 49ers' offense's 187 total yards the year's low-water output. Patrick Willis with another double-digit-tackle game.

What it means

2-3 with the bye next week. The kind of home loss where the offensive identity, with Smith still out and the new Hostler system not producing under Dilfer, is the year's deeper problem. The Giants on the road in Week 7 after the bye. The bye-week reset is what the staff has to accomplish.