It was a glorious day in the Geach household. My Rams loving old man was left speechless by the 4th quarter and his pre-game cockiness was replaced with a lot of sighing and face palming. Michael Crabtree looked amazing for that one catch and run and Vernon Davis hurdled two guys, one of them into the end zone. Unfortunately, it wasn't all good news, Joe Staley injured himself early in the game, suffering a sprained MCL. I am actually not all that worried about Alex Boone playing LT, but the overall talent of the offensive line has taken a serious hit with our normal left side of the line out of commission. To the links!
Game Recaps and Post Game Reax:
49ers move ahead of Arizona, have fun in the process (BASG)
49ers take big step toward the playoffs with big win over Rams. (PFT)
49ers leap over Rams; Seahawks provide next hurdle. (Barrows)
49ers beat up Rams, sweep season series. (49ers)
Final: 49ers easily dispatch Rams en route to next Sunday’s showdown with Seahawks (Inman)
Rapid reaction: San Francisco 49ers. (ESPN)
Alex Boone views switching to left tackle like "riding a bike" and Adam Snyder thinks the 49ers O-Line has some big shoes to fill with Staley's absence.Source: Staley's knee injury not a season-ender (Maiocco)
Alex Boone really did do a great job at LT, holding NFC sack leader Robert Quinn sackless on the day. Alex Boone Leads Patchwork O-line sans Staley. (49ers)
Notes: LT Staley has sprained MCL; Rams’ trickery turned away (Branch)
GIF of Vernon's first hurdle (SFGate)
Full Highlights (49ers)
This is NFL.com's typo, not mine. If they happen to edit it, trust me, It said Cardinals. San Francisco 49ers beat Cardinals, aid playoff hopes (NFL)
Anquan Boldin's big day helps leads 49ers by Rams. (ESPN)
49ers plenty tough in win over Rams. (SFGate)
Staley likely sprained MCL in right knee (Inman)
A pretty hilarious sight post game was Crabtree, Boldin, and Kap all standing at the podium together. Boldin excused Crabtree for not taking his 60 yard scamper to the house because "Thanksgiving was this week." and Crabtree accused Boldin of feeding him too much turkey. Crabtree, Boldin and Kaepernick, together at the 49ers’ podium: "I’m supposed to take that to the house!" (Kawakami)
Press conference recap: 49ers defeat Rams. (49ers)
Alex Boone prepared to replace Staley at LT. (SFGate)
Source: Staley suffers sprained MCL; MRI to gauge severity. (Barrows)
Vernon Davis moved into 4th place on the 49ers career receiving TD list. He only needs 127 more to pass #1 on that list. Vernon Davis leaps his way to 50th career TD. (49ers)
Seldom-used Looney plays like "big boy" vs. Rams. (Barrows)
Boone fills in for Staley; Gore miffed at output; Kaepernick flourishes. (Inman)
Kaepernick shows he's a strong front man. (ESPN)
Crabtree's return does not slow down Boldin or Davis. (Maiocco)
Report Card: So much went right, especially on special teams. (Inman)
Behind Enemy Lines:
One of my guilty pleasures after a big 49ers win is checking out the opponents post game blog. Rams 13, 49ers 23: In Lieu of Offense... (Turf Show Times)
Unfortunately, both teams ended up losing their starting LT yesterday, Staley left with a sprained MCL and Jake Long left with a concussion. Rams lose Jake Long to concussion (PFT)
SI piece about under the radar contenders mentions the 49ers, don't ask me why the defending NFC champs are considered under the radar. Panthers, Eagles lead list of dangerous, under-the-radar contenders (SI)