Bruce Reaches Two Milestones
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Wide receiver Isaac Bruce entered Sunday’s game needing only five catches to record his 1,000th career reception, and just 60 yards to move ahead of Tim Brown into the number two slot behind Jerry Rice on the all-time receiving list.
But with only one catch for 21 yards at the halfway mark of the final quarter, Bruce’s shot of making history back home in St. Louis seemed improbable, especially when taking into account the awful day his quarterback Shaun Hill was having.
Hill completed only two passes in the third quarter for 21 yards, while also throwing his second pick of the day to cornerback Ron Bartell.
The 49ers starting quarterback went from almost getting benched to leading the team to their most exciting finish of the season, and it all began with a 12-yard pass to Bruce with seven minutes left in the game.
“Any time you allow a football player, a guy who plays as hard as Shaun does to stay in the game, things will turn around for him,” said Bruce. “The other guys are on scholarship too, so they are going to make plays, but we were fortunate to have Shaun come back and bounce back the way he did.”
Hill went back to the reliable Bruce an additional four times on the drive, including three straight to finish off an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The highlight play of the scoring series was Bruce’s 3-yard touchdown reception, which earned the veteran receiver his 1,000th catch in grand fashion.
“I’m very grateful,” said Bruce. “Glory to God. It was a great game, in the last quarter. I think the first few quarters were pretty stagnant. For both teams to really rise up and start playing in that fourth quarter, it was big.”
Despite the fact that his reception trimmed the Rams lead to within six, Bruce received recognition on the Rams video board and a resounding “BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE” from the St. Louis fans.
“Like I said earlier in the week, for the fans’ sake, it being down here in St. Louis would be special because they saw so many of those catches, and just the lineage of the wide receivers who have come through the Rams and the 49ers. Having Coach Ellard over there, a guy who taught me so much and having Torry Holt on the other field, who also taught me a lot. It’s big, big for the city, and big for both organizations.”
Bruce had six receptions for 53 yards at that point, thus needing only seven more yards to become the number two ranked receiver in terms of yards in NFL history.
Hill didn’t make Bruce wait long to get them. After getting dropped for a sack on the first play of the following series, Hill went straight to the future Hall of Fame receiver on a 2nd and 12 play from his own 31. Bruce made the catch and headed out of bounds to stop the clock after an 8-yard gain.
“That was another thing about today’s game, I definitely wanted that to happen for Isaac,” said Hill. “I’m so happy, number one, that it did happen, and number two, that we were able to win while happened.”
There was no time to waste celebrating however as Hill still had a 3rd and 4th down to convert in order to keep the 49ers comeback attempts alive. He did that with a 13-yard strike to Bryant Johnson, followed by a 48-yard touchdown pass to Josh Morgan.
“I was very excited,” said Bruce of the rookie’s catch. “It was an opportunity for him. I told him the previous series, Mike had changed the personnel, and I heard him make a comment when he was going out of the game for a different personnel. I told him, ‘That’s the passion coming out of you. Any time you want to stay in a football game and fight with your teammates, that’s big.’ I told him I was very proud of him at that moment, before the touchdown.”
It was only after Joe Nedney hit the extra point following Morgan’s catch to take a one-point lead that the Rams announced Bruce’s feat.
“The record is huge,” said Bruce. “It plays a part in this rivalry between the 49ers and the Rams and I’m very honored for it.”
The normally stoic Bruce admitted that coming into the Edward Jones Dome as a visitor was a bit of an emotional experience for him.
“It was strange, it was different. I tried to hold back and fight from going into the home team’s locker room and saying hi to the guys. I just had to do it. I was attempting to keep my poker face on to the people on the sidelines during the pregame, but I just saw so many faces who were here with me during my years and I just had to stop and say hello, say Merry Christmas and tell them I missed them and loved them.”
As beloved as Bruce is in St. Louis, it’s safe to say that the 49ers receiver has quite a few fans in San Francisco who now love him too.
