(Sports Network) - The San Francisco 49ers must have been looking forward to an upcoming bye week, so much so that the team decided to begin the break one day early.

The 49ers hardly resembled the hard-working and fundamentally sound outfit that jumped to the head of the NFC West class through the first quarter of the 2009 season this past Sunday. San Francisco appeared more like the rag- tag group that's produced six consecutive losing seasons in a revealing 45-10 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons that was every bit as one-sided as the final score indicated.

A defense that had been rock-solid during the Niners' 3-1 start was abused by Atlanta's dangerous quarterback-receiver combo of Matt Ryan and Roddy White, with the former putting up a career-high 329 yards as the latter shredded the San Francisco secondary for a whopping 210 yards and two touchdowns on only eight catches.

The Niners were forced to abandon their ball-control game plan after falling behind 35-10 at halftime, which in turn exposed the limitations of steady but unspectacular signal-caller Shaun Hill. The undrafted free agent and former NFL Europe participant completed a mere 15-of-38 passes for 198 yards and was intercepted once.

San Francisco also turned the ball over three times after having only two giveaways over its first four games of the season. One of those miscues came from veteran cornerback Dre' Bly, who was stripped of the football by Ryan after showboating down the sidelines following an interception, a fitting symbol of his team's surprising lack of focus.

"Obviously in a game like this I think all of us [coaches] have to do a better job of preparing our guys," said 49ers head coach Mike Singletary said. "We did not play very smart today. This will be a wake up call for some of our guys."

San Francisco will have time to correct its litany of errors with a week off that should also provide some additional time to get rookie wide receiver Michael Crabtree up to speed. The first-round selection finally ended a contentious 2 1/2-month holdout by agreeing to a six-year, $32-million contract last Wednesday and is expected to make his long-awaited debut in the Niners' Week 7 game at Houston.

QUICK HITS: Sunday's loss was the 49ers' worst since a 41-0 setback at Kansas City on October 1, 2006, while the 45 points allowed were the team's most since a 48-19 defeat to San Diego on October 15 of that same season...San Francisco's defense, which had given up an average of 284 yards per game coming in, surrendered 477 total yards to the Falcons...Strong safety Michael Lewis left the contest after suffering his third concussion of the season...To free up a spot on the active roster for Crabtree, the 49ers released veteran return specialist Allen Rossum on Monday.

NEXT UP: Following its Week 6 hiatus, the 49ers will play back-to-back road tests against a pair of AFC South foes. After making its first-ever visit to Houston's Reliant Stadium on October 25, San Francisco takes on Peyton Manning and the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium the following weekend.

ARIZONA: The Arizona Cardinals were able to close within a half-game of the 49ers' lead atop the AFC West by holding on for a victory that came by literally the slimmest of margins.

A Cardinals' defense that was powerless to stop Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans' passing attack for nearly all of the second half came through when it mattered most last Sunday, mounting a game-saving goal-line stand in the final seconds to preserve a wild 28-21 triumph.

The unit also came up with the game's pivotal play late in the fourth quarter, when second-year cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie picked off a Schaub pass and raced 49 yards to break a 21-21 deadlock with just 2:20 left to play.

Houston quickly marched into scoring range, however, and had a 2nd-and-goal from the Arizona one-yard line with just under a minute remaining. But the Cardinals rose to the occasion and stuffed running back Chris Brown twice around a Schaub incompletion to seal the much-needed win.

The defense's late stance was the highlight of another Jekyll-and-Hyde performance from a Cardinals team that has been one of the NFL's most puzzling through the early part of this season. The reigning NFC champions roared out to a 21-0 halftime advantage on the strength of a near-perfect performance from quarterback Kurt Warner, but that lead would evaporate as Schaub caught fire and Warner suddenly went cold.

Warner hit on 20-of-23 throws, including a pair of touchdown strikes to star wideout Larry Fitzgerald, for 262 yards before intermission, but the two-time league MVP misfired on 12 of his 15 attempts as the Arizona offense came to halt over the final two quarters.

Schaub, on the other hand, racked up 279 yards and two scores on 25-of-32 passing in the second half.

"I'm happy we won the game, but I'm a little displeased with how we played in the second half, especially offensively," said Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt. "I think we learned a lot about our team today as far as being able to respond to a challenge."

QUICK HITS: Warner finished with 302 yards and now has 13,255 over his five seasons with the Cardinals. The former Ram joined Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton (Giants, Vikings) as the only two quarterbacks in league history to pass for over 13,000 yards for two teams...Defensive end Calais Campbell blocked his second field goal attempt of the season when he got a hand on a 35-yard try by the Texans' Kris Brown in the second quarter...Arizona managed only 44 rushing yards against Houston and ranks next-to-last in the NFL with an average of 56.5 yards per game on the ground...Tight end Stephen Spach left Sunday's win in the third quarter after spraining his right ankle.

NEXT UP: The Cardinals re-enter divisional play when the team heads to Seattle's Qwest Field this Sunday to take on the rival Seahawks. Arizona posted a 26-20 win in the Emerald City during Week 11 of last season, which snapped a string of five straight losses as the visitor in this series.



SEATTLE: The 12th man was back in full force for the Seattle Seahawks this past weekend. So was Matt Hasselbeck.

The standout quarterback, returning from a two-game absence caused by a fractured rib in a mid-September loss to San Francisco, threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns to complement a smothering defensive display that carried the Seahawks to a convincing 41-0 trouncing of the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at Qwest Field.

Hasselbeck found plenty of holes in a leaky Jacksonville secondary, with the 11th-year pro connecting with wide receivers Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh on a pair of scoring deliveries each. His anticipated comeback wound up being overshadowed, however, by a dominating showing from a defense that had struggled mightily during the three-game losing streak the Seahawks brought into Sunday's tilt.

Seattle limited the bewildered Jaguars to a meager 199 yards, including 38 on the ground, and sacked quarterbacks David Garrard and Luke McCown five times. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville's excellent running back, managed a harmless 34 yards on 12 carries against a refocused Seahawks group that was further fired up by a raucous home crowd.

End Lawrence Jackson put the exclamation point on the rout with a sack and forced fumble on Garrard early in the fourth quarter that rookie lineman Nick Reed returned 79 yards for a touchdown.

Since shutting down the hapless St. Louis Rams in a season-opening 28-0 home win, Seattle's defense had yielded an average of 376 yards and over 27 points in consecutive defeats to San Francisco, Chicago and Indianapolis.

"I really think the mindset of our team has changed," said Hasselbeck, who completed 18-of-30 passes before being removed in the fourth quarter with the outcome well in hand. "We haven't played our best football, but I really feel we're a hard, physical, tough team and that hasn't necessarily been something we've been about (in the past). I think we've got that kind of mentality now."

QUICK HITS: The 41-point margin of victory was the Seahawks' largest since a 42-0 win at Philadelphia on December 5, 2005...Burleson finished with 98 yards on six catches in addition to his two scores, while Houshmandzadeh's touchdowns were the offseason signee's first two in a Seattle uniform...A line that was already missing regular tackles Walter Jones (knee surgery) and Sean Locklear (high ankle sprain) saw fill-in left tackle Brandon Frye leave Sunday's win in the first quarter with a shoulder stinger. Kyle Williams, signed off the practice squad earlier in the week, took over for Frye... Veteran defensive end Patrick Kerney was also inactive after injuring his groin in the previous weekend's loss at Indianapolis.

NEXT UP: The Seahawks hope to have their home-field advantage intact once again for this coming Sunday's pivotal divisional showdown with the defending NFC West champion Cardinals. Seattle will be seeking to avenge a pair of defeats to Arizona last season and has lost in four of the past five meetings between the teams.



ST. LOUIS: The comedy of errors commonly associated with the St. Louis Rams continued in the team's most recent outing, a 38-10 home loss to the formidable Minnesota Vikings that could have been much more competitive if not for a flurry of ill-timed turnovers by the long-suffering club.

A usually ineffective St. Louis offense generated a season-high 400 yards on the still-unbeaten Vikings, but sealed its fate by giving the ball away three times inside the Minnesota 10-yard line. The Rams totaled four turnovers for the game, with a fumble by quarterback Kyle Boller returned 52 yards by Vikings end Jared Allen midway through the first quarter to put St. Louis in a quick 14-0 hole.

Boller was also picked off in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, and both running back Steven Jackson and tight end Daniel Fells lost fumbles within Minnesota's five-yard line in the first half as the Rams extended their franchise-record losing streak to 15 games dating back to last season.

Jackson's fumble was especially costly, with St. Louis marching for a potential touchdown that could have cut its deficit to 14-7.

"My turnover at the goal line definitely hurt the team and our momentum," he admitted afterward. "After that I think we just snowballed downwards. We were able to move the ball as a offense but in the National Football League, it's really hard to overcome turnovers, especially when you're facing a team like the Minnesota Vikings."

The Rams now have 12 giveaways -- including nine fumbles -- and a minus-seven turnover margin through their first five losses of this season.

On a positive note, regular quarterback Marc Bulger got some playing time in the fourth quarter and played well in limited action. The two-time Pro Bowl participant, who sat out St. Louis' 35-0 loss at San Francisco in Week 4 due to a bruised right shoulder, completed all seven of his passes for 88 yards and hooked up with wide receiver Donnie Avery on a late 27-yard touchdown.

Boller was removed late in the third quarter after suffering a mild concussion. The former first-round pick went 20-of-31 for 209 yards and the one interception.

QUICK HITS: Starting defensive tackle Gary Gibson fractured his left ankle in the third quarter of Sunday's game will undergo season-ending surgery. He was placed on injured reserve on Monday, with the Rams signing journeyman wide receiver Tim Carter in a related move...Avery's touchdown was the second-year wideout's first of the year and he finished with season bests of five catches and 87 yards...Rookie cornerback Bradley Fletcher, a third-round selection in April's draft, made his first career start and recorded four tackles.

NEXT UP: The Rams hope to put an end to an eight-game road losing streak when they travel to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium this weekend for an interconference test with the AFC South's Jaguars. St. Louis, which has been outscored by a combined margin of 72-7 in three previous away tilts this year, will be making its first-ever trip to Jacksonville.









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