That number is deceiving, though. The Niners sprinted to a 32-point halftime lead, then were content to work the clock over the last 30 minutes en route to a 35-16 triumph. After rolling up 259 yards in the first two periods, San Francisco netted only 75 after intermission.

Martz, the former Rams offensive guru who serves as the 49ers' offensive coordinator, was afforded that luxury largely because of a nightmarish second quarter for the Rams: They tied a team record by giving up 28 points over those dreadful 15 minutes and limped to the locker room trailing 35-3 against a team that had lost six games in a row.

Last week, the New York Jets bolted to a 40-0 bulge at the break in their 47-3 rout of the Rams. "We've got to start faster; it's pretty clear," defensive end Chris Long. "I don't know what it is, but we've got to figure it out."

It looked as if the Rams might have snared the early edge when safety Oshiomogho Atogwe punched the ball from running back Frank Gore into the hands of cornerback Jason Craft on the Niners' first series.

"You want to start the game off with something big, and as a defense, you'd like to start if off with a turnover," Craft said. "I felt confident that we were going to start out on the right foot with that turnover."

But the offense went three-and-out, just as it did after defensive tackle Adam Carriker pounced on a fourth-quarter fumble by 49ers back DeShaun Foster that was forced by linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa.

The 49ers, conversely, produced touchdowns after each of the Rams' three turnovers: two interceptions and a fumble, all charged to quarterback Marc Bulger.

San Francisco was afforded good field position - its average start on its five touchdown drives was the Rams' 47-yard line. Still, the defense was guilty of failing to stiffen on any of those series.

"We had five touchdowns scored on us, and we never want to do that," Tinoisamoa said. "There's no excuse. We could've held them to field goals, and we didn't even do that."

Four of the Frisco scores came on runs, including two by Gore. He pounded out 106 yards on 18 carries, the sixth back to reach triple figures against the Rams. They have yielded more yards on the ground than all but one other team.

"We've got to stop the run," Long said. "We need to answer that bell."

Perhaps more important, the Rams have to quell these early-game uprisings, safety Corey Chavous stressed.

"When you allow those 17-0, 21-0 runs, it's tough to recover from those," he said. "So what we've got to be able to do is when the momentum shifts to the other team, grab it back quicker. I think if we do that, we'll be a lot happier with the end result."