49ers Don’t Mess Around This Time

The San Francisco 49ers finally looked every bit as good as their record.

Garrison Hearst rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown and Ahmed Plummer had two of San Francisco’s four interceptions to lead the 49ers to their first shutout of the season, a 35-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.

During their implausible run to a tie for the NFL’s best record at 9-2, the 49ers specialized in escaping from trouble. They’ve already matched an NFL record with four overtime games, and they had only one victory by more than 10 points.

But against woeful Buffalo (1-10) on a typically blustery night on Candlestick Point, the young 49ers pounded the Bills with mature, dominant performances on both sides of the ball.

It was the 49ers’ biggest win since a 45-10 victory at Washington on Sept. 20, 1998.

Despite taking his share of hits from the Bill defense, Jeff Garcia had another outstanding game. He was 19 of 27 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, completing his first nine passes before hitting Tai Streets for his first career touchdown and Terrell Owens for his league-leading 13th score of the season.

J.J. Stokes, a forgotten man on San Francisco’s offense for much of the season, had eight catches for 68 yards. Hearst had another steady game, while fullback Fred Beasley scored his first touchdown.

Even Paul Smith, the 49ers’ fourth-string running back, got his first NFL touchdown with 3:08 remaining after the Bills’ fourth turnover.

Plummer made a team-best seven tackles and picked off two passes by Alex Van Pelt.