By Cam Inman, Contra Costa Times –
SAN FRANCISCO — Knocked out of Sunday’s 24-24 tie with a concussion, quarterback Alex Smith’s next step will be to meet with an independent neurologist before he can return to action for the 49ers.
League protocol protects Smith from rushing back too fast, and he first will be measured against his baseline testing from the offseason. From there, Smith will proceed to nonfootball activities and noncontact drills before fully practicing.
“He seems all right,” Colin Kaepernick, Smith’s replacement, said. “Obviously he’s a little shaken up, but he seems OK.”
League rules prohibit concussed players from addressing the media after games.
Smith last suffered a documented concussion in last season’s home opener against the Dallas Cowboys. He played the entire game, and he didn’t experience symptoms until afterward.
Smith exited Sunday’s game after completing 7 of 8 passes for 72 yards with a touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree and a 143.8 passer rating. His only incompletion came when he overthrew Mario Manningham near the sideline. Smith was coming off an 18-of-19 passing display in a 24-3 win at Arizona on Oct. 29.
—Rams coach Jeff Fisher serves on the NFL’s competition committee and said overtime is a constant discussion. “You don’t want them to end in a tie, but we can’t just keep playing,” Fisher said. “Both clubs had opportunities to win this game in overtime, more than one or two opportunities.”
—This was the 49ers’ 14th tie since joining the NFL in 1950 and first at Candlestick Park since 1972, when they drew 20-20 with the New Orleans Saints. The 49ers’ last tie against the Rams came in 1968 (20-20).
—Frank Gore repeatedly broke tackles, but he didn’t have to do so on a 20-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run. It was his fifth rushing touchdown this season and 48th of his career, two shy of the franchise record shared by Roger Craig and Joe Perry. Gore finished with 97 yards on 21 carries.
—Linebacker Aldon Smith recorded two sacks and leads the 49ers with 9½, which ranks third in the league.
—In an ESPN interview with hip-hop artist Lil Wayne, Randy Moss shed more light on why he returned from a one-year hiatus. Moss cited fatherhood duties as the reason he left the NFL, and he traced his path back to his daughter Sydney’s ambition to win a national championship as a freshman guard at the University of Florida.
“She’s like, ‘Yeah. I want you to win the Super Bowl, because I’m going to win the NCAA championship,’ ” Moss said during the interview, shown on “Sunday NFL Countdown.”
Moss came out of pseudo-retirement in March to sign with the 49ers and launch his 14th season. Regarding his 2011 absence, Moss said: “It had to do with, you know, my family, putting them on the right page and them understanding who daddy really was. I didn’t want to do it. I cried like a baby in my garage. I really did.”
—Running back Brandon Jacobs was inactive for the ninth time in nine games. Also out, as usual, were: quarterback Scott Tolzien, nose tackle Ian Williams and the 2012 draft quartet of wide receiver A.J. Jenkins, running back LaMichael James, guard Joe Looney and safety Trenton Robinson.
—In a rare feat against the 49ers defense, Rams running back Steven Jackson eclipsed the 100-yard mark, rushing 29 times for 101 yards and a first-quarter touchdown.
—The Rams inactivated two rookie starters for violating team rules: cornerback Janoris Jenkins (second-round pick) and wide receiver Chris Givens.
—Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval attended the game and wore a 49ers jersey on the field’s perimeter during warm-ups.
