It’s amazing how excited people can get when a team improves to 3-6. And yet given the state of the NFC West this win is huge. The San Francisco 49ers 23-20 overtime victory against the St. Louis Rams is step one in a potential climb towards a division title. The 49ers have a lot of work in front of them, but for one week they’ve handled their business.
It certainly wasn’t an easy process as the 49ers did everything they could to blow this game. They had three touchdowns and an interception called back because of bad penalties. Their two minute defense was unable to close the deal in regulation (although they did step up in overtime). And yet they somehow found a way to get the victory.
Troy Smith certainly qualifies as your player of the game as he threw for more yards than any 49ers QB since Tim Rattay back in 2004. He struggled in the middle of the game, but he really stepped up late with some monstrous throws with the 49ers backed up deep on 3rd and 32 and 4th and 18.
The 49ers face an even stiffer challenge next week when the 6-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town. The Bucs have surprised a lot of folks with a strong start to the season and will give the 49ers a huge challenge. Troy Smith has had some big moments thus far but the Bucs will provide another big challenge.