A signature win for the St Louis Rams turned into a prime-time display of catastrophic failures that still plague this franchise, as well as the tantalizing possibilities inherent in this young and spiritied team. The result was a 24-24 tie that leaves Rams nation stunned, and gives the 49ers fans a huge sigh of relief.

The Rams had this game won - and then taken away - so many times that we have to count them to be sure.

1) They had it won early, jumping out to a 14-0 advantage on touchdowns by Brian Quick and Steven Jackson, and then knocking Alex Smith out of the game after he led a scoring drive.

2) They had it won even after the Niners closed the gap under Colin Kaepernick in the second half, ready to receive the kickoff up 17-14 with eight minutes to go.

3) They had it won even after the Niners recovered an awful fumble by Isaiah Pead on that kickoff and scored a murderously quick touchdown, as Sam Bradford led his team down the field on a signature comeback drive, scoring a go-ahead touchdown and leaving just over a minute on the clock.

4) They had it won even after their defense couldn't hold onto that lead, utterly failing to set the edge on defense and allowing Kaepernick to make plays with his feet again and again to send the game into overtime.

5) They had it won on the first play of overtime, as Sam Bradford uncorked a gorgeous downfield pass to Danny Amendola, who somehow got behind his man and made a brilliant catch and run to give the Rams a first and goal inside the five yard line ... until the referees took it away.

6) They had it won even after having to punt the ball away and watching their defense continue to have no idea how to play against a mobile quarterback, as David Akers honked an easy field goal.

7) They had it won as rookie sensation Greg Zuelein drove a 53-yard coffin nail straight through the uprights at Candlestick, until the referees noticed the play clock standing at zero.

8) They had it ... maybe ... until the referees made one final intrusion into the game by failing to get the ball spotted as time ticked ominously away. A final ten seconds that may or may not have made the ultimate difference in our last gasp.

In one sense, this game was an astounding victory of spirit for a Rams team that showed up with fight on their minds and refused to back down against the bullies of the division. In another very real sense, this was a horrendous opportunity lost, an opportunity - multiple opportunities, as stated above - to get a statement win to start the second half.

A game the Rams won and lost... could only end in a tie. A tie that means essentially nothing in the standings - not a loss, not a win, just a void. A void that utterly fails to capture the torture of conflicting emotions that comes out of this game. Every judgement of every component of this game comes with nearly equal parts good and bad...

In less than two years, Jim Harbaugh has made the San Francisco 49ers into one of the NFL's premier division bullies, rivaling only the Patriots and Ravens (coached by his brother John) for their level of domination of their own division. Combined, the three teams have lost only two games to their rival teams.

At quarterback, these three teams couldn't be more different. In Tom Brady, the Patriots have one of the game's elite quarterbacks; in Joe Flacco, the Ravens have a big-armed monster that is becoming more dangerous as a passer; in Alex Smith, the 49ers have ... Alex Smith.

By far the most impressive job Jim Harbaugh has done in San Francisco is in turning Smith into a usable - even valuable - commodity in the passing game. Every other component of the 49ers' success - a punishing defensive front, near-elite weapons in Vernon Davis and Frank Gore - was inherited. So much so that only one draft pick from Harbaugh's two seasons as coach - Aldon Smith - has cracked the starting rotation.

So how has he done it? And what can the Rams learn from his approach?

I usually try to look for something unique to discuss in the preview. However, the game plan this week is so obvious; I am just going to go with it. Nothing set forth below will guarantee a Rams win, but I believe the numbers support the argument that you have to do this to have a chance to win.    

1.         35+ RUNS

San Francisco has the second best defense in the NFL. They are 5^th against the run allowing  a measly 87.4 yards a game. They are 2^nd against the pass allowing a paltry 184 yards a game. Looking at those stats might cause you to conclude that you can’t have success against the 49ers by focusing on the pass or the run. However, those stats do not tell the full story.

Talk about a major understatement. This came from my preview: “The one key difference between Miami and New England is the passing offense. New England has real weapons and can threaten the Rams defense. Miami could not.” While accurate, the comparison is ludicrous. Comparing the New England passing game to the Miami passing game is similar to comparing a spring shower to Hurricane Sandy.

My review of the preview is going to be very short because none of it mattered. The Rams were dominated in every way. I am going to spend more time on a review of the problems. My question after the game was “What did the Patriots see and attack?” I thought it had to be one person or one feature of our defense. After watching the game several times on tape, I regretfully report to you that the Patriots saw one thing, a lack of talent.

You cannot watch that game and say every drive was successful because of X.  Yes, I know Rob Gronkowski killed us, but he wasn’t the overall reason for success. In the first drive, the Neanderthal was primarily a blocker and did not catch a single pass. Nevertheless, the Patriots moved down the field without much opposition and scored.

The NFL is a copycat league.  In both the long term and the short term, teams are always looking at other teams and trying to find out how they are winning.  Without a doubt, the most copied team in this league over the last decade has been the New England Patriots.  However, today we’ll look at how the Rams took a page out of the Seahawks playbook to burn the Patriots. 

Two weeks ago, while trailing by 6 with 1:27 left to play in the game, Seahawks rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson dialed up a 47-yard bomb to Sidney Rice for a game-winning touchdown. 

Flash forward to 2 minutes and 25 seconds into the Rams / Patriots match up. The Rams have the ball nearly at the same spot on the field as the Seahawks had the ball, and run virtually the same play to get an early lead on the Patriots. 

I learned two things while watching the Rams at a Dave & Busters with my family and a group of Rams fans. 1: The amount of time it takes for the D&B sensory overload to reduce my four-year-old son to a quivering puddle of nerves and tears is approximately two hours. 2: The amount of time it takes for Tom Brady and the Patriots to do the same to the Rams defense is a lot less. 

The first five drives engineered by Brady and former Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels ended in touchdowns. The sixth in a field goal. At that point, the Patriots were up 38-7 and the drama had been sucked out of a packed Wembley Stadium. 

The game didn't have to get to this point. The Rams opened the game with a confident drive, moving the chains to midfield and then taking advantage of the weak Patriots secondary with a beautiful designed rollout and deep throw to Chris Givens for the game's opening score. 

It was to be the last highlight of the day for the "home" team, and the hundreds of true-blue Rams fans among them seeing their team in person for the first time. 

Pass Defense Exposed

The Rams surprised many - including their own fans - by fielding one of the NFL's best pass defenses through the season's first six weeks. However, that defense has regressed badly lately.

Elite quarterbacks have a way of exposing holes in even the best defenses, especially when they aren't pressured. The Rams registered exactly 0 sacks and 0 knockdowns of Brady on the day, as Chris Long and Robert Quinn were completely bottled up by the well-coached line and Brady's rapid recognition of when and where the holes in the Rams' zone defense would open up.

Holes appeared to be open all over the field, particularly in the vulnerable middle patrolled by safeties Quintin MIkell and Craig Dahl. Even without Aaron Hernandez in tow to draw coverage away, Rob Gronkowski had a full day's work in the first half alone: 106 yards receiving and a touchdown. He tacked on an additional 40 yards and another score in the second half, to put the icing on the cake. 

Former Ram Brandon Lloyd also caught touchdowns on his only two catches of the day, and applied himself well to his blocking assignments to spring multiple long gains via the run and the pass. 

The Rams' pass defense was little better against the run, as Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen took advantage of our nickel package to do damage on draw plays. 

For those fans lucky enough to see their team in person for the first time, this whole week has been a geek-out lovefest. Unfortunately, the game didn't live up to the billing. But the Rams now have a bye week to lick their wounds, nail down some holes, and get some key players back from the trainer's room. They face a relatively friendly back half of the schedule, with only San Francisco (twice) looming as monster matchup problems. Fans looking for a happy story will have to look to the future, because it wasn't to be found this week. 

I am having Déjà vu. Upon completion of my research, I have written this preview before. See if any of this sounds familiar. The Rams need to be able to run the ball, or at least threaten the run to have offensive success. Turns out, the Patriots strength on defense is against the run.  They are 8^th against the run, allowing only 86 yards a game.

The Patriots weakness is pass defense. They are 29^th against the pass, but the Rams are not at their best when they are pass happy. Furthermore, the Rams lost their favorite target in the passing game, Danny Amendola.  

All of this came from the Miami game. The one key difference between Miami and New England is the passing offense. New England has real weapons and can threaten the Rams defense. Miami could not. However, there is another interesting difference between this preview and the Miami preview. The Rams have grown. I no longer believe the rams have to be able to run the ball to have success. In fact, if necessary, the Rams could become pass happy and have a chance in this game, at least I believe that to be true.  That is growth!

I am sure every preview is going to say the same thing. The Rams need to be able to throw the ball to keep up with New England. Sam Bradford needs to prove his value by stepping up in this game and picking apart an obvious weakness, the New England pass defense. I am sure most previews you read will talk about the need to excel in the passing game and the preview will say something about Bradford stepping up. I will disagree for two reasons. First, I don’t like to state the obvious. Secondly, I don’t believe this game will be a referendum on Sam Bradford and the Rams passing offense. For whatever reason, I think Fisher has different thoughts. These are two excellent coaches, so I do not expect them to go with the obvious. Here are my thoughts on what the Rams need to do to win:

1.         MORE RICHARDSON