On November 11, 2012, the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams played 75 minutes at Candlestick Park and finished 24-24. It was the NFL’s first tie in four years and the 49ers’ first since 1986. It was also the last game Alex Smith started for San Francisco.
Smith left in the second quarter with a concussion, and second-year backup Colin Kaepernick took over. Kaepernick started every game after that, and 12 weeks later he was playing in the Super Bowl.
The hit that changed the season
The 49ers came in 6-2 and leading the NFC West. The Rams were 3-5 and had lost three in a row, but they scored touchdowns on their first two possessions. Sam Bradford threw 36 yards to Brian Quick for a touchdown, and Steven Jackson ran 7 yards for another to make it 14-0 in the first quarter.
Late in that quarter, Smith was hit hard by linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar at the end of a scramble. He stayed in the game and completed his next five passes. He also kept the ball himself on fourth-and-1 near midfield and was hit again, and the 49ers’ doctors later told coach Jim Harbaugh that this play may have caused the injury. Five plays later, Smith threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree on third-and-7 to make it 14-7.
That was his last throw of the day. Smith finished 7 of 8 for 72 yards. Kaepernick came in on the next possession with 6:31 left in the half and ran 10 yards on his first snap.
A punter with a 118.8 passer rating
Rams punter Johnny Hekker kept St. Louis’ drives alive. With 49 seconds left in the first half, on fourth-and-4 at his own 10, he threw a 21-yard pass to safety Rodney McLeod, who was standing uncovered. In the fourth quarter he did it again, finding tight end Lance Kendricks for 19 yards on fourth-and-8. Hekker finished 2 of 2 for 40 yards.
Greg Zuerlein’s 27-yard field goal put the Rams ahead 17-7 late in the third quarter. Then the 49ers scored two touchdowns 17 seconds apart on the game clock.
| Time | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 4th quarter, 8:48 | Kaepernick runs 7 yards for a touchdown. The replay official reviews it, and the touchdown stands | Rams 17, 49ers 14 |
| 4th quarter, 8:40 | Isaiah Pead fumbles the kickoff when Tramaine Brock hits him. Darcel McBath recovers at the St. Louis 28 and runs it to the 20 | Rams 17, 49ers 14 |
| 4th quarter, 8:29 | Frank Gore runs 20 yards for a touchdown on the next snap | 49ers 21, Rams 17 |
| 4th quarter, 5:23 | Hekker throws 19 yards to Kendricks on a fake punt on fourth-and-8 | 49ers 21, Rams 17 |
| 4th quarter, 1:13 | Bradford throws a 2-yard touchdown pass to Austin Pettis | Rams 24, 49ers 21 |
| 4th quarter, 0:05 | Kaepernick drives the 49ers from their own 22. David Akers kicks a 33-yard field goal | Rams 24, 49ers 24 |
On the tying drive, Kaepernick ran for 19 and 10 yards and threw to Kyle Williams for 13 more. San Francisco used all three of its timeouts to get Akers in range.
Two misses in overtime
Overtime in 2012 lasted 15 minutes, and it was the first season the modified rules applied to regular-season games: a field goal on the first possession no longer ended the game. On the first snap, Bradford hit Danny Amendola for 80 yards to the San Francisco 2. Rodger Saffold was flagged for illegal formation, the play was wiped out, and the Rams punted three plays later.
The 49ers drove to the St. Louis 23, but Akers missed a 41-yard try wide left with 8:14 left. The Rams answered by driving to the San Francisco 35, and Zuerlein made a 53-yard field goal. It did not count. The Rams had been flagged for delay of game, and holder Hekker said afterward that the penalty was his fault. From 58 yards, Zuerlein missed wide right.
San Francisco went three-and-out after Chris Long sacked Kaepernick. St. Louis’ last drive was kept alive when linebacker Patrick Willis was called for holding on third down, but Bradford’s last pass, to Brandon Gibson, was caught at midfield as time ran out.
| Rams | 49ers | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 24 | 24 |
| Total yards | 458 | 341 |
| First downs | 27 | 25 |
| Third downs | 7 of 16 | 2 of 11 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 5 |
| Penalties | 13 for 85 yards | 7 for 66 yards |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 40:45 | 34:15 |
Bradford completed 26 of 39 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Amendola, back after missing three games with a shoulder injury, caught 11 passes for 102 yards, and Jackson ran 29 times for 101 yards. For San Francisco, Kaepernick completed 11 of 17 passes for 117 yards and ran eight times for 66 yards and a touchdown. Gore ran for 97 yards, and Aldon Smith had two sacks.
What they said
“I have to say, I’ve been doing this a while. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game like this,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “We had a number of chances to put the game away. And, unfortunately, we didn’t.”
“It’s a weird feeling. I’ve never been a part of a game like that before,” Bradford said. On the other side, Willis said: “We have one of the best kickers in the game, and it came down to him at the end and he misses it. That tells you right there something wasn’t right.” Safety Donte Whitner put it simply: “It feels weird. We’re about wins around here.”
What came next
Smith had started 28 games in a row. He finished the 2012 season 153 of 218 (70.2 percent) for 1,737 yards, with 13 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 104.1 passer rating. He did not start again for San Francisco. Kaepernick started the next Monday night against the Chicago Bears, and the 49ers won 32-7. Harbaugh kept him in the job.
The 49ers went 5-2 the rest of the way, finished 11-4-1 and won the NFC West. Kaepernick beat Green Bay 45-31 and Atlanta 28-24 in the playoffs, and San Francisco lost Super Bowl XLVII to Baltimore 34-31. The next spring, the 49ers traded Smith to Kansas City.
The Rams finished 7-8-1. They also got their revenge three weeks after the tie: in the rematch in St. Louis, Zuerlein kicked a 53-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to force overtime and a 54-yarder to win it, 16-13.
The rivalry now
The Rams moved back to Los Angeles in 2016, and the rivalry goes on. San Francisco won this season’s first meeting 27-7 at SoFi Stadium in Week 1 and is 6-1. The Rams are 3-4 and play the Chargers on Sunday. The teams meet again at Levi’s Stadium on December 13.
Related WhyNFL reading: how NFL overtime works today, the Seahawks and Cardinals’ 6-6 tie in 2016 and Harbaugh’s handshake game in 2011.
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