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s lost a 14-10 heartbreaker to the Denver Broncos
ST. Terrell Owens Jersey . LOUIS - Austin Davis has made the most of his improbable shot the St. Louis Rams, passing for 300 yards each of the last two games. The degree of difficulty is about to go up. Way up. The San Francisco 49ers enter Monday nights game with the NFLs No. 2 defence, making the going very tough even without key players from last season. Catch all the action on TSN1, TSN3, and TSN4 starting at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Patrick Willis leads the way for San Francisco (3-2) which has stepped up its play lately. Last week, they did enough to compensate for a sputtering offence that leaned on five field goals and converted on a fake punt deep in their territory in a 22-17 victory over the Chiefs. Alex Smith found the going tough especially in the second half and Jamal Charles was held to 80 yards rushing. Patrick Willis, lets start there, coach Jim Harbaugh said. He is the kingpin in the middle. Harbaugh said tackle Justin Smith and linebacker Ahmad Brooks have also stepped up their play, plus nose tackle Ian Williams has been a find. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman has resumed running and getting closer to returning. Davis passed for 375 yards and two touchdowns last week at Philadelphia, nearly bringing the Rams back from a 27-point deficit in a 34-28 loss. The previous game, he passed for 325 yards although he was intercepted twice. Several players have proven reliable targets, including wide receivers Brian Quick, Kenny Britt and Austin Pettis and tight ends Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks. The 49ers took advantage of the extra day of preparation to learn more about a player who was fourth on the depth chart during the preseason before the job dropped into his hands due to injuries to Sam Bradford and Shaun Hill. Coach Jeff Fisher reversed field after the Rams bye and said Davis was his quarterback for the rest of the year, after repeatedly saying Hill was that guy when he returned from a quadriceps injury. Davis was a volunteer high school coach this time last year, getting re-signed by the Rams after Bradfords first season-ending knee injury. So its still a nice rags-to-riches tale, but with a body of work to analyze. Weve really weve got as much tape on him as we would have if the other guy had still been the quarterback, defensive co-ordinator Vic Fangio said. So, its really not a whole lot different than any other week. The Rams (1-3) are a lot more concerned about solving the 49ers defence than Davis performing on national TV. Its just the next challenge, the next chapter, offensive co-ordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. Its just obviously a very good defence. Again, he doesnt have to do it by himself, we have to do it as a team. The game plan wont change much, if at all, to account for San Franciscos strengths. Running back Zac Stacy is probable coming off a calf injury that sidelined him last week and Benny Cunningham also been effective. Theyll certainly make some plays, they always do, Schottenheimer said. They will be tough stretches Im sure. This is probably an elite defence, but weve played some good defences. For a change the 49ers didnt beat themselves last week, committing just two penalties for 10 yards last week. Penalties remain a season-long concern for the Rams, whove also made enough critical mistakes to put a damper on hopes Fishers third season will be the long-awaited breakthrough. The defence has been a puzzlement, prone to giving up big gainers and limited to a single sack despite aggressive schemes under new co-ordinator Gregg Williams. Theres enough on his plate that Fisher isnt paying much attention to the 15-year anniversary recognition of the 1999 Super Bowl team. The team was honoured at a function Sunday night and will be the focus of halftime Monday night. Im actually thinking about the 49ers, Fisher said. Ive been here for a few years now. Im reminded on a daily basius inside the building, so Im used to it now. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ;Bob Lilly Jersey . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire. Charles Haley Womens Jersey .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In many ways, it was a dream, going from 2-14 and the first overall pick in the NFL draft to 11-5 and a spot in the playoffs. Yet it ended in just about the most nightmarish way possible, a second-half collapse and another round of post-season heartache. No wonder the Kansas City Chiefs had such a hard time summarizing their season in the minutes and hours after a gut-wrenching 45-44 loss at Indianapolis on Saturday. "You know, I certainly think you use this as drive," Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said Sunday between wrap-up meetings. "I think its good to be playing in these types of games. I think these types of games are contagious. You go back to playing in just regular-season games, you want that itch. You have that urge to try to get to these types of games. "I certainly think that foundation has been laid for next year." The Chiefs have lost a record eight straight post-season games, their last victory coming after the 1993 season. Most of the current members of the team were in grade school, some of them still in diapers, the last time Kansas City tasted any success in games that truly matter. It appeared for most of three quarters Saturday that things would be different. Kansas City had raced to a 31-10 halftime lead, and then took advantage of an interception early in the third quarter to tack on a touchdown that several Chiefs would say later should have sealed the game. The problem was that they started playing as if the game was in hand, while Andrew Luck and the playoff-tested Colts started to play as though they had nothing to lose. The result was a furious second-half rally, one made possible by unconscionable breakdowns by a defence that was spectacular during a 9-0 start. Luck torched a secondary that wilted when it faced premier quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers, and his 64-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton with 4:21 left finished off the second-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history. "I sat there and talked to them this morning and there were a lot of long faces," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Sunday. "Theyy had their hearts ripped out. Tony Romo Womens Jersey. I can work with that. "They should hurt," Reid said. "Thatll make us better." The last time the Chiefs won a playoff game, Joe Montana was the quarterback and the Titans were still the Oilers. Since then, there have been all manner of playoff heartbreaks: -- The Chiefs missed three field goals against Indianapolis after the 1995 season, when they had gone 13-3 during the regular season and harboured championship aspirations. -- Two years later, the Chiefs lost a 14-10 heartbreaker to the Denver Broncos, who would go on to beat the Green Bay Packers and win the Super Bowl. -- After the 2003 season, the Chiefs lost again to the Colts in a game featuring two of the leagues premier offences -- and in which nobody punted. But the way that Kansas City melted down Saturday may trump all of those disappointments. "Its hard to put in words, to lose a game that we clearly had control over," said linebacker Derrick Johnson, who is now 0-3 in playoff games in his nine-year career. "Coming from having the first pick last year to making the playoff this year, we did accomplish some things," Johnson said. "At the same time, our standard is very high and this one hurts." While players were going through final meetings Sunday, Reid met briefly with reporters at the teams practice facility. He said that no changes are planned for his coaching staff, though he did acknowledge that some of his assistants would be pursued by other teams. Reid also said it was too early to discuss personnel issues. The Chiefs have most of their key players already under contract for next season. Their biggest loss figures to be left tackle Branden Albert, whom they gave the franchise tag to this season. But even he may be allowed to leave in free agency with viable replacements already in house. Theyll be seeking help at wide receiver and in the defensive backfield in free agency and the draft, but for the most part, the Chiefs should return intact next season. When they make another run at ending two decades of playoff futility. ' ' '
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Activity: May 25 '20
