The 49ers dominated the Rams plain and simple yesterday.  Alex Smith had a solid game for the Niners yesterday completing 17 of 28 passes for 222 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Frank Gore was super for the Niners with 23 carries for 107 yards (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg).  Fullback Moran Norris got rewarded for his blocking with 3 carries for 5 yards (1.7 ypc) with a TD.  Vernon Davis led the way for the passing game with 6 grabs for 89 yards (14.8 avg) with a TD grab.  Rookie WR Michael Crabtree pitched in with 3 grabs for 58 yards.  The Niners finished up with 329 total yards on offense (125 rushing, 204 passing) in this game as they held onto the ball for 33:08 yesterday.

DE Justin Smith led the way for the Niners in this game with a superhuman effort.  He finished up with 8 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and he hit the Rams’ QBs 4 times!  This was a solid team effort on D for the Niners who sacked Rams’ QBs a stunning 8 times.  The Rams finished up with only 109 total yards in this game (87 rushing, 22 passing).  The Niners finished the season with a 8-8 record good for 2nd place in the NFC West.

The 49ers can get to 8-8 with a win tomorrow against a Rams team that they battered 35-0 in San Francisco earlier this season.  The 49ers will probably try to run a balanced offense tomorrow with Frank Gore running and Alex Smith throwing.  Gore should have success running against a Niners’ D that is allowing 138.4 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry this season.  The Rams don’t have much of a pass rush so Alex Smith should have more than enough time to get the ball to Vernon Davis, Josh Morgan and Michael Crabtree against a Rams’ D allowing 237.3 yards passing per game.

The 49ers’ D will likely be aggressive against the Rams and gang up on Steven Jackson if he’s healthy enough to play tomorrow.  Rookie QB Keith Null will likely be starting against the Niners tomorrow so expect them to get a couple pick-offs in this game. 

PREDICTION:  49ERS 27, RAMS 7

The 49ers have signed 29-year old kicker Shane Andrus to handle the place kicking duties on Sunday.  Ricky Schmitt hurt his groin in practice this week and he will be unavailable tomorrow against the Rams.  Andrus played in 3 games earlier this season for the Buccaneers and he was 0 for 1 on field goals and 6 of 6 on extra points. 

The 49ers are sending one player from each phase of the game to the Pro Bowl.  25-year old TE Vernon Davis has really exploded this season earning this honor.  Davis has played in 15 games for the Niners this season and he has caught 72 passes for 876 yards (12.2 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  24-year old linebacker Patrick Willis is flat out awesome.  He has played in 15 games for the Niners this season and he has made 147 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, defensed 7 passes and he has 3 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  27-year old punter Andy Lee will also be making the trip to Miami.  He has played in 15 games for the Niners this season and he has punted the ball 90 times for 4,291 yards (47.7 avg).  He has 7 touchbacks (7.8%) and 28 punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line (31.1%). 

The San Francisco won the game yesterday with defense plain and simple.  The Niners forced 6 turnovers in the game as Patrick Willis, Dre Bly and Dashon Goldson picked off passes while Mark Roman, Takeo Spikes and Dre Bly all recovered fumbles yesterday.  Patrick Willis led the way for the Niners on D as usual with 9 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and a INT.  The Lions finished up with only 289 total yards on offense (114 rushing, 175 passing) yesterday.

Alex Smith did a solid job of managing the game on offense completing 20 of 31 passes for 230 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Frank Gore had to fight for every yard he got on the ground with 71 yards rushing on 28 carries (2.5 ypc) with a TD grab but he also caught 4 passes for 81 yards (20.3 avg).  Michael Crabtree (4 rec, 68 yards) and Vernon Davis (3 rec, 18 yards, TD) pitched in for the offense.  The 49ers finished up with 310 total yards on offense (84 rushing, 226 passing) in this game.  The 49ers are now 7-8 on the year.