INACTIVES

49ers: Jamie Martin (No. 3 QB), S Dashon Goldson, TE Delanie Walker, LB Ahmad Brooks, C Cody Wallace, T Barry Sims, WR Arnaz Battle and WR Josh Morgan.

Bryant Johnson starts at WR for Morgan.

Rams: Brock Berlin (No. 3 QB), CB Tye Hill, RB Sam Gado, RB Steven Jackson, LB Chris Draft, G Roy Schuening, T John Greco and DE Eric Moore.

Antonio Pittman starts at RB for Jackson.

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Niners captains are at midfield for the coin toss. Isaac Bruce is not one of the 49ers, as Eric Heitmann, Patrick Willis, Michael Robinson and Walt Harris out there. The 49ers win the toss and defer.

The Rams will take the ball to open the game.

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FIRST QUARTER

--Niners kickoff coverage consists of Brown, Smith, Bajema, Banta-Cain, K.Lewis, Ulbrich, Robinson, Green, Hudson and Strickland, with Nedney kicking off.

--Pittman gains a big chunk through the right side for 24 yards.

--Rams faced with their first third-down play. Third and four. Strickland and Keith Lewis are in. Roman with the tackle of Klopfenstein, but it's a first down.

--By the way, I just noticed that Mark Roman is back wearing the green dot, as he is taking over the play-calling duties. This might have happened a few weeks ago, but I just noticed it now.

--Walt Harris with a nice play to break up a deep pass to Avery at the goal line.

--On third and 8, the 49ers have a no-man line. They had a bunch of guys standing up at the snap. It was a four-man rush and Green came free up the middle to apply pressure to Bulger's whose pass was completed short of the mark.

--Josh Brown on for a 48-yard FG attempt. It's wide left, so the 49ers will take over at their own 38 with 10:59 left in the quarter.

--Niners going to start the game with two TEs, Davis and Bajema, along with B.Johnson and Bruce. Gore is the single back. Gore for 4 yards.

--On second down, Gore breaks one for a long, long gain . . . 50 yards. But Atogwe pops the ball from Gore's grasp and Jason Craft catches it, gets both feed down. The Rams will take over at their own 13. And, folks, that's another 49ers' turnover. The 49ers add to their own lead with a minus-14 turnover margin.

--Actually, it's a 37-yard run. The ball was popped loose at the 21.

--Bulger tried to throw a block on Justin Smith as Pittman tried to cut back. Bad idea. Smith leveled Bulger.

--It's third and 2 . . . Willis with a great tackle to drop Darby for no gain on a swing pass.

--Rossum with a nice return. The 49ers are back in business with a 29-yard return to the Rams' 34-yard line.

--Craft is called for PI on Bruce, giving the 49ers the ball at the 6-yard line.

--Gore takes it off the right side untouched for a 5-yard TD run. It's 49ERS 7, RAMS 0 with 6:37 remaining. Man, the Rams are really, really bad. The 49ers should win this game by three touchdowns.

--Strickland forces a fumble on the kickoff. It looked like Hudson recovered it, but the Rams somehow got it back. Rams take over at the 20-yard line at the 6:30 mark.

--Balmer and Fields are on the field. Bulger is dropped for a sack at the 19. No idea who say will get the sack. OK, Lawson gets the sack, but about five guys were there.

--Pittman busts off another run for 22 yards.

--The Rams are moving the ball. They have a first down at the 49ers' 30.

--It'll be third and 1 for the Rams. The 49ers have not been good in these short-yardage situations. Sopoaga got absolutely plowed into the ground, as Darby gained an easy 4 yards through that hole for a first down.

--Orlando Pace is injured on the play. It looks like they're working on his right leg. Adam Goldberg replaces Pace, who is walking off the field under his own power.

--Sopoaga comes from the back side to make a play on Darby on first down, stopping him for a 3-yard gain.

--After a 1-yard loss, the Rams will have a third-and-8 from the 15-yard line on the first play of the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

--Roderick Green jumps offside to make it third-and-3.

--Bulger gets away and scrambles 5 yards for a first down. It's first and goal at the 5.

--Third and goal. Tully Banta-Cain, who got a pep talk from GM Scot McCloughan last week, is on the field. Bulger throws it away. Rams will have to settle for a FG. Clements did a nice job on Holt on that play, with a little help from Keith Lewis.

--Brown makes 24-yard FG. It's 49ERS 7, RAMS 3 with 13:26 left in the half. That was a 15-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 8 minutes, 11 seconds.

--INJURY UPDATE: Pace has been taken into the locker room for further evaluations of his knee injury. Also, RB Travis Minor's  CB Ron Bartell's return in the game is questionable.

--Bruce catches 20-yard pass from Hill vs. Jason Craft.

--Bryant Johnson vs. Fakhir Brown takes it down inside the 10 for a 42-yard gain.

--The Niners have a third and goal from the 2. I'm thinking fullback dive to Robinson. (Even though he's not on the field.)

--Two-yard TD pass to Vernon Davis. Second game in a row with a Davis TD reception. And here's the shocker: He was not called for any kind of penalty in the aftermath. It's 49ERS 14, RAMS 3 with 10:38 left in the half.

--Bulger fumbles the snap from center Nick Leckey, and Haralson is there to recover it at the 16.

--Chilo Rachal is in at right guard for the 49ers. Gore gains 11 yards to the 5. David Baas was out leading that sweep.

--Gore gets the call to the 1.

--Sean Ryan lines up in the backfield in front of Gore, who is stopped at the goal line.

--Now, it's third down from the 1. Ryan is in the backfield again. Gore appeared to be stopped a couple yards deep, but Fakhir Brown with a horrendous attempt at a tackle. Gore shrugged him off to get into the end zone. That makes it 49ERS 21, RAMS 3 with 7:50 left in the half.

--OK, so far the GPS is showing that the 49ers are a lot better than the Rams. But are the 49ers that good or are the Rams that bad? It's probably a lot more of the latter. After all, this is the same Rams team that trailed the Jets 40-0 at the half last Sunday.

--Walt Harris in coverage against Avery makes the interception. Then Clements makes a great block on Avery to allow Harris to get up the field. The 49ers take over at their own 40.

--Bruce loses 3 yards on a reverse.

--Hill to Hill for 22 yards. Man, the 49ers are destroying the Rams.

--DeShaun Foster (who?) gets in a catches a 9-yard pass from Hill.

--And it's Foster again, who did a nice job of working his way all the way back across the field after a play-fake. Hill finds him and the hook-up goes for 31 yards to the 1-yard line.

--Foster is stopped at the goal line. BTW, Rachal is at right guard for this series, too.

--On third down, Zeigler replaces Davis. Niners have four wides with Foster in the backfield. Hill's in the shot gun. Hill looks to pass, but tucks it under his arm and scores a touchdown. Now, it's 49ERS 28, RAMS 3 with 3:32 remaining. Niners are taking out some frustration today.

--After Hill's TD, he gave the ball to Heitmann to spike it. The 49ers' offensive line is doing an outstanding job. Remember what I wrote earlier this week? I've thought all along the line has gotten a bad rap because of mistakes made by O'Sullivan and Martz through the first eight games of the season.

--Michael Lewis with a safety blitz, easily gets past Pittman for the sack and an 8-yard loss. It's the two-minute warning.

--Bulger with an ill-advised throw toward Holt. Michael Lewis with the pass-breakup, and Clements with the interception. The 49ers take over at their own 44.

--It's third and 2 at the Rams' 48 . . .  Hill to Hill. Jason with a good job of finding the sticks for a 4-yard completion.

--Zeigler's on the field, along with Robinson. Robinson down the middle of the field vs. the coverage of Will Witherspoon. He's stopped at the 1-yard line. That's where the 49ers will have it with :42 left in the half.

--Robinson with the call, and there's nowhere to go. It's a loss of 1 yard.

--It's second and goal from the 2 . . . Hill to Johnson over Brown in the end zone for the TD. Now, it's 49ERS 35, RAMS 3, and Mike Singletary's first week as head coach is 30 minutes, 34 seconds away.

Shaun Hill's halftime stats: 12 of 14 for 192 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. That's not bad at all. It's a perfect passer rating of 158.3.

It's halftime. The Rams have been outscored 99-10 in the first half of their past three games against the Cardinals, Jets and 49ers.

I know I said this was a GPS game. This does show that the 49ers do not belong in the same breath as the Rams and Lions -- perhaps the two worst teams in the league. But do they deserve to be any further up the NFL rankings? We'll have a better idea in the next few weeks when the 49ers take the show to Dallas and Buffalo, then back home against the Jets on Dec. 7.

An appreciative crowd gives the 49ers a standing-O as they leave the field.

THIRD QUARTER

--Rossum with a 30-yard return on the kickoff. Balmer with a big block on David Vobora on the return.

--Heard the Fox sideline reporter say that Jim Haslett told his team at halftime it was embarrassing. I wonder if Haslett used any halftime props.

--Wragge is back in at right guard. Gore with a first down after a 10-yard run to the 46.

--Hill is sacked. That had nothing to do with the offensive line, as Craft was working against Gore to make the sack on that play. The Niners will put for the first time. It's a 55-yard punt, but a net 35, as it goes into the end zone.

--RAMS INJURY UPDATES: Pace (knee), center Richie Incognito (shoulder) and Bartell (knee) are out for the first of today's game with injuries.

--NINERS INJURY REPORT: Safety Michael Lewis' return is questionable with a knee sprain.

--Niners give up another sack. But again it's Frank Gore -- and not the offensive line -- responsible. Jason Craft with the sack again.

--Lee with the punt. Brown trips up Looker and Hudson finishes him off. It was a punt of 47 yards, and Looker is dropped for a minus-3 yard return.

--On third down, Roman with a big hit to break up pass to rookie Keenan Burton.

--Brown to try a 48-yard FG. It's good. It'll only take 10 more of those for the Rams to take the lead. It's 49ERS 35, RAMS 6 with 3:51 remaining in the quarter.

--Martz tries to throw on both first and second downs. Hill runs for a yard on first down and throws incomplete to Bajema on second down. Hmmm. OK.

--It's third and 9. Gore with the catch, but it doesn't get much.

--Oh, no. They're trying to do The Wave here at the 'Stick. I believe that's against Candlestick law.

--Deep pass to Avery down to the 22-yard line. I don't think he was inbounds, and Singletary doesn't believe it, either. The 49ers challenge the call. Referee Al Riveron is reviewing it.

--The 49ers lose the challenge, but the Rams sideline is called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. I'm not sure why that call was not overturned. Avery's second foot was clearly on the line. The Rams have the ball now at the 37 with a first and 25.

--The 49ers are 0-for-6 on replay challenges this season. They're one of eight teams that has yet to win a challenge.

--49ERS INJURY UPDATE: Cornerback Tarell Brown is questionable with a neck strain.

--Josh Brown makes a 44-yard FG. All they need is nine more FGs and the Rams will take the lead. It's 49ERS 35, RAMS 9 with no time left in the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

--Nice sequence for the 49ers at the beginning of the fourth quarter. They start this possession at the 9-yard line, but consecutive false starts by Vernon Davis, Michael Robinson and Adam Snyder moves the 49ers back to the 1.

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And, now, here are some fun facts from the 49ers' first-half dominance:

--It was the 49ers' biggest first-half lead since Dec. 7, 2003 when the led the Cardinals 34-0.

--It was the most points the 49ers have scored in a first half since they had a 42-10 lead against the Falcons on Oct. 18, 1992.

--The 49ers' 28 points in the second quarter tied the club record, previously set Dec. 23, 1991 against the Bears -- also in the second quarter.

--Shaun Hill became the first 49ers QB to post a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the first half in club history.

--Hill's 192 yards passing were the most in the first half for a 49ers' QB since Jeff Garcia had 221 yards passing in '03 against the Cardinals.

* * *

--Michael Lewis is back in the game at safety for the 49ers. He left earlier with a knee sprain.

--Frank Gore is out of the game. He has 18 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns. DeShaun Foster is on the field.

--Foster fumbles and the Rams recover. The scrary part of that play is that Shaun Hill went after it and dove to make the recovery. If he had gotten injured . . . yikes. Rams take over at the 49ers' 42.

--And J.T. O'Sullivan has entered with 6 minutes remaining for mop-up duty.

--Hill's final stats are 15 of 20 for 213 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

And that means I can protect myself from injury, too.

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