Faulk carries load as Rams hold off 49ers

SAN FRANCISCO -- Marshall Faulk's steely determination gave way to a broad smile after he carried the St. Louis Rams on a final, clock-killing drive.

"I just love having the ball with the game on the line," Faulk said. "I'd take it every time in the fourth quarter if they'd let me."

In a game filled with flubs, fumbles and drops, Faulk's reliability made the difference. He handled the ball on nearly every play during St. Louis' decisive drive in a 30-26 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

"It's great to go into the huddle there knowing that Marshall can take over," said Kurt Warner, who passed for 321 yards and three TDs. "He just took charge, and we went along for the ride."

Leading by just four points with 6:35 to play, the Rams (2-0) wanted to use as much time as possible. Faulk started it off with an 18-yard run; he rushed seven times and caught two passes in the first 10 plays on the drive, which ended inside the 10 after the 49ers exhausted their timeouts.

"If my number's called, I'm going to perform," Faulk said. "That's all I'm going to do. If they put the ball in my hands, it's a collective effort to move the ball up the field."

In a high-intensity matchup of two of the NFL's top offenses, the 49ers' receivers dropped several passes to put them in a 14-point hole late in the fourth quarter. But the Rams nearly let San Francisco back in it when Isaac Bruce fumbled with less than 10 minutes left.

"I thought we had a chance to stop them, but we all know what kind of player Marshall is," 49ers safety Lance Schulters said. "He took over for them."

Faulk rushed 18 times for 105 yards and caught eight passes for 79 yards. Bruce had eight catches for 144 yards and a score as the Rams beat the 49ers for the fifth straight time after a 17-game losing streak against San Francisco.

49ers lose Hearst

The 49ers (1-1) lost running back Garrison Hearst to a concussion in the second quarter when he was hit hard by Mark Fields. Hearst, who missed the past two seasons while recovering from a broken leg, returned for a few plays, but didn't play after halftime.

But Hearst's absence wasn't the 49ers' biggest problem. Dropped passes -- including three by Pro Bowl receiver Terrell Owens and two by J.J. Stokes, the nominal successor to Jerry Rice -- short-circuited several drives. Jeff Garcia finished 19-for-34 for just 121 yards.

"We have a fine receiving corps, and they will catch passes," 49ers coach Steve Mariucci said. "Our passing game just wasn't hitting on all eight cylinders. We've been better than that."

St. Louis opened the game with 12 straight points, but the 49ers scored 16 in the final 4:07 of the first half.

Az-Zahir Hakim and Bruce caught second-half TD passes to give the Rams a 14-point lead, but San Francisco cut St. Louis' lead to 30-23 on backup fullback Terry Jackson's 10-yard TD catch with 10:31 left.

A minute later, Bruce caught a 33-yard pass down the sideline, but was stripped of the ball by Jason Webster. The Rams held San Francisco to Jose Cortez's 33-yard field goal with 6:47 left; Faulk and Warner finished it off from there.

San Francisco's offense started slowly for the second week, and only penalties kept the 49ers in the game early on. The Rams' receivers committed four blocking infractions in the first 16 minutes. Another penalty kept alive San Francisco's first scoring drive, which ended in Garcia's 10-yard TD scamper.

Moments later, 49ers cornerback Ahmed Plummer made his first career interception to set up rookie Kevan Barlow's 1-yard TD lunge with 1:15 left.