It didn't matter. Thanks to a 28-point second quarter -- the team's most prolific since 1991 -- the 49ers cruised to an easy 35-16 victory over the St . Louis Rams , their first win since Sept. 21.

With the win, the 49ers accomplished three things:

* They washed away the bitter taste from last week's discombobulated last-second loss to the Arizona Cardinals .

* They gave Mike Singletary a convincing first win as the interim coach.

* And thanks to a lackluster second half in which the 49ers had six punts and a fumble, they gave Singletary plenty of ammunition entering next week's game against Dallas.

To hear Singletary afterward, you might have thought the 49ers had suffered their seventh consecutive loss. The 49ers' coach has a five-point mantra he is trying to drill into his team, and it was clear he wasn't pleased with No. 5 on that list -- "Finish."

"Finishing means that at some point in time the offensive line, when we're backed up, that we could put it in their hands and they drive it out," Singletary said. "Finishing means that we don't jump offsides two, three, four times in a row. Finishing means that we don't walk off the field -- we jog off the field. Finishing means that however we started the game, we need to end the game stronger than we started. That's finishing."

Still, it's hard to be too critical of the way a team finished when you consider how well it started.

Quarterback Shaun Hill, who threw two ugly second-half interceptions against Arizona, was near perfect in the first half Sunday. He entered the locker room with a 158.3 passer rating, the highest rating possible and something no other 49ers quarterback -- not Steve Young nor Joe Montana -- accomplished.

Hill was especially good at getting himself out of trouble. On one rollout play in the second quarter, he sidestepped the rush of Rams defensive end Leonard Little and found running back DeShaun Foster downfield for a 31-yard completion to the 1-yard line. Three plays later, Hill hurled himself across the goal line and -- in a wise public relations move -- flipped the ball to Eric Heitmann so the center could spike it.

Hill gave tackle Joe Staley a chance to spike the ball last year.

"Joe's was better," Hill said archly. "(Giving the ball to a lineman is) just something I like to do."

On the next offensive series, which was set up by a Nate Clements interception, Hill floated a perfect pass over the middle linebacker to Michael Robinson, who rumbled 36 yards to the 1-yard line. Hill then hit Bryant Johnson on a lob pass in the end zone.

Frank Gore, who rushed for 106 yards after missing two days of practice because of a stiff neck, scored on two short runs. Hill connected with tight end Vernon Davis on another. The longest of the 49ers' five first-half touchdown plays was from five yards, and Hill said he was particularly proud that the offense didn't settle for field goals.

"Every time we had the Football, we were looking to score," he said.

While Hill was having the best half of his career, his counterpart, Marc Bulger, struggled against a 49ers secondary that took away the deep pass.

Bulger tried to hit rookie Donnie Avery deep in the second quarter, but his pass was underthrown, allowing Walt Harris to reach up for an easy interception. Later in the quarter, safety Michael Lewis broke up a long pass intended for Torry Holt. Clements and Keith Lewis both had a shot at the deflection, which Clements eventually gathered in.

Bulger also flubbed a snap in the second quarter that was recovered by linebacker Parys Haralson, who had one of three 49ers sacks on the afternoon.

"We just have to build on what we started from last week," Harris said. "Obviously we didn't get that win in Arizona, but that's what we're building on. ... Hopefully that definitely carries over to another win with us."

One thing is certain. Just as Singletary didn't allow his team to get too down on itself following the loss in Arizona, he'll make sure it doesn't get too giddy after a blowout win.

"We cannot approach tomorrow any differently than if we had lost," Hill said. "We still have to learn from this game. There were mistakes out there today, myself included."

REPORT CARD Offense: Shaun Hill is just about perfect in a first half in which seven different receivers catch passes and four different players score touchdowns. Mike Singletary's first win as head coach is an old-fashioned blowout despite a sloppy second half. Grade: B+

Defense: It allowed some big runs early. But other than that, it's hard to find much to fault. Anytime the Rams went deep, the 49ers came up with an interception. First-half turnovers were the story of the game. Grade: B+

Special teams: Allen Rossum for NFL special-teams MVP? Why not? Who else has been as consistently good as the 49ers' return man, who was one puny kicker away from his second consecutive kickoff return for a TD. Grade: A

Overall: Singletary got exactly what he was seeking -- a game in which his team hit its opponent in the mouth. Still, it's important to take this win in stride. The 49ers blew out the Lions earlier this year and lost their next six games. Grade: B+

Read Matthew Barrows' 49ers blog at www.sacbee.com/ninersblog.