49ers regroup to sink Rams

Wide receiver Isaac Bruce reached a pair of milestones during a late-game flurry.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — For 31‚Ñ2 quarters, Shaun Hill threw more interceptions than completions to Isaac Bruce.

The San Francisco 49ers’ offense clicked just in time to erase a 13-point deficit, and for the 36-year-old wide receiver to reach a pair of milestones during a late-game flurry against his former team.

Bruce scored one of the touchdowns that rescued Hill’s awful day and sent the St. Louis Rams skidding to their ninth straight loss, 17-16 Sunday.

“It was a great game in the last quarter,” Bruce said. “I’m very, very honored.”

Bruce became the fifth player to reach 1,000 catches on a 3-yard touchdown grab with 4:03 to go and passed Tim Brown for second on the career yards receiving list on the 49ers’ go-ahead drive.

The Rams (2-13) squandered a 10-point halftime lead for the second straight week. They were ahead 16-3 with 11:36 to go, but failed to capitalize on four turnovers and four sacks. The losing streak is the franchise’s longest since moving to St. Louis in 1995.

“I don’t know if we’re cursed,” running back Steven Jackson said. “But you know, I mean, it hurts. It hurts when you feel like you’ve outplayed your opponent literally for almost eight quarters going back to last week.”

Coach Jim Haslett was more succinct, saying “We gave the game away.”

Josh Morgan got the go-ahead score on a 48-yard reception with 1:22 to go from Hill, who threw a season-worst three interceptions before putting it all together late. Hill was 10-for-15 for 127 yards in the fourth quarter, and 18-for-34 for 216 yards overall.

“The other guys are on scholarship, too, so they’re going to make plays,” Bruce said. “I’m real fortunate to have Shaun come back and bounce back.”

After the game, coach Mike Singletary said he’d been on the verge of yanking Hill and giving backup J.T. O’Sullivan a shot.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever played that badly, especially for that long,” Hill said. “I can’t explain it. It goes like that sometimes, but everybody hung in there.”

Morgan and Jason Hill both appeared to run the same pattern in the left corner of the end zone, and three Rams were also close by when Morgan caught a slightly underthrown ball for only his 18th catch of the season.

“I just thought ‘Make the play,’ ” Morgan said. “It shows what Coach Singletary said, that we took another big step.”

The 49ers (6-9) won without Frank Gore, sidelined for the second straight week by a sprained ankle. They forced only one turnover, but it was the clincher and gave them four victories in five games heading into next week’s finale at home against the Redskins.