Niners' Kaepernick comes up short vs. Rams, keeps job

• Zuerlein's FG lift St. Louis in OT
• Niners' defense remains strong
• Second-year QB commits critical turnover

ST. LOUIS — The San Francisco 49ers and their two quarterbacks have entered a strange and entirely avoidable space.

The stage was set for Colin Kaepernick to shake the quarterback controversy dogging him and former starter Alex Smith. The St. Louis Rams awaited with their 4-6-1 record and their middling defense. San Francisco's defense, far from middling, on Sunday smothered the Rams as thoroughly as any NFL defense can be expected to.

And Kaepernick? His 208-yard passing day in a 16-13 overtime loss was punctuated by several big mistakes, though coach Jim Harbaugh said he was proud of the 25-year-old, and the depth chart would go unchanged next week (probably).

Said the coach, "I'll let you know if there is a change."

That depth chart he's referring to? It's a doozy. The lineup card for Sunday's eventual 16-13 overtime loss to the St. Louis Rams read as follows: "No. 11 Alex Smith OR No. 7 Colin Kaepernick."

Harbaugh's loose endorsement of Kaepernick reflects the locker room mood after the 49ers (8-3-1) dropped their first game in six weeks. There was plenty of praise for Kaepernick, along with enduring support for Smith, the passer drafted No. 1 overall by the franchise seven years ago. He was leading the league in completion percentage before losing his job when he suffered a concussion against the Rams Nov. 11.

"I think Colin did a great job. He's a true playmaker," tight end Vernon Davis said of Kaepernick. "Not taking anything away from Alex. He's a great player as well. He's still The Guy in my eyes. He's always been The Guy. We've been here together for such a long time.

"We look at Colin as the starter, at the moment. Anything else is up to the coaches."

Smith, who left the locker room without taking questions Sunday, watched from the sidelines as the 49ers stalled over and over again, opening the door for game-tying and game-winning field goals for Greg "Legatron" Zuerlein of the Rams. After statement performances in wins vs. the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints, Kaepernick struggled in his second dome appearance in as many weeks.

His hesitation with the football was part of the reason St. Louis scored its first points, as he began a third-quarter drive at his own 4-yard line, scrambled right and threw a pass just as he was about to be sacked, but failed to get the ball to the line of scrimmage.

The play was ruled a safety.

Kaepernick said the refs got it wrong. "I thought I got it past the line of scrimmage," he said. "They said it didn't make it ... I think it did."

Later, Kaepernick again helped the Rams put up points with a rushed, off-target lateral to Ted Ginn, Jr. recovered by Janoris Jenkins for a touchdown.

Coach Harbaugh took blame for that one: "That was on us," he said. "That was the wrong play to call at that time. I would love to have that one back. It was too risky of a play to call at the time."

Finally, in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, Kaepernick took off on a 50-yard gallop down the sideline, setting up a tie-breaking David Akers field goal, but not before running out of bounds on third and long to give St. Louis the ball back with 1:34 left and the opportunity to tie.

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher was thankful.

"I was expecting to get the ball back inside of a minute with no timeouts left," he said. "So that certainly helped our cause."

St. Louis capitalized with a 53-yard Zuerlein field goal to send the game to OT, and Kaepernick placed the blame on himself.

"Our defense played a great game," he said. "I gave up those points that were on the scoreboard for the Rams. That's 100% my fault."

Indeed, the 49ers defense imposed its will on the Rams for much of the game, allowing only a two-point conversion and two field goals. San Francisco came up with critical stops, twice in overtime, and limited Rams running back Steven Jackson to 48 yards on 21 carries.

It wasn't enough. And by the time Zuerlein lined up the game winner, members of the offense were feeling like they had let down the other side of the ball.

"The defense did what they had to do," said tight end Delanie Walker. "We feel like we let the defense down."

Sunday's loss is enough to reinvigorate the Smith supporters who point to the former starter's performance during a 2011 postseason run which saw the 49ers narrowly miss out on a Super Bowl appearance. It means more questions for 49ers players who are learning to toe the line between backing Kaepernick or Smith.

One method, perhaps the most effective, is to simply look away.

"I'm on the defensive side," said 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith, asked to evaluate Kaepernick's play. "I didn't even watch it."