ST. LOUIS -- For reasons relating mostly to a potential move to Los Angeles, the St. Louis Rams have been newsworthy all year.

But if they are on their way out of town, the Rams are getting in position to give their remaining fans a nice farewell present.

With a 27-6 defeat of the shorthanded San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis finds itself with a 4-3 record, the first time it's been over .500 this late in a season since Oct. 29, 2006.

"We still have nine games left and anything can happen," defensive end Robert Quinn said about playoff talk. "But this is nice to hear. You can't look too far into the future."

The Rams' present and immediate past has looked pretty nice the last couple of weeks, albeit against outmatched foes. But in beating Cleveland and San Francisco by a combined 51-12, St. Louis strung together consecutive wins for the first time this year and shown the kind of positive consistency it's often lacked for the last decade.

Big plays lifted an offense that struggled at times against an NFC West rival. Running back Todd Gurley's 71-yard touchdown run with 10:25 left in the second quarter gave the Rams the lead for good at 10-3.

A 49-yard pass from quarterback Nick Foles to tight end Jared Cook in the last minute of the first half led to a 2-yard scoring jaunt by wide receiver Tavon Austin with 18 seconds remaining for a 20-6 halftime lead.

And St. Louis' lone pass play in its last 18 snaps -- a screen to Austin -- became a 66-yard touchdown with 8:34 left in the game to essentially wrap up its competitive phase.

"You get those guys in open space, anything can happen," said Foles of Gurley and Austin.

Gurley rushed for 133 yards on 20 carries, his fourth straight game of more than 125 yards, making him the first rookie since 2005 to achieve that mark. Despite sitting out the season opener and playing sparingly in the next two games, Gurley owns 575 rushing yards and a 6.1 yard per carry average.

One couldn't blame 49ers coach Jim Tomsula for gazing across the field longingly at Gurley, wondering if and when his team's offense will put fright in anyone's heart besides their fans.

Already operating without starting running back Carlos Hyde (foot) and wide receiver Anquan Boldin (hamstring), San Francisco lost running backs Reggie Bush (knee) and Mike Davis (hand) during the game and found itself down to Kendall Gaskins at the position.

With no running threat other than himself and no receivers able to consistently gain separation, quarterback Colin Kaepernick struggled again, completing just 20-of-41 attempts for 162 yards. He was sacked three times and hit at least nine other throws.

"Not good enough," Tomsula said of the 49ers' performance. "It starts with me. Everybody in the building is being evaluated every day. Today wasn't good enough."

San Francisco (2-6) managed just 11 first downs and 189 total yards while picking up 13 penalties for 93 yards. One of those flags, a personal foul face-mask on Ahmad Brooks, negated a 41-yard fumble return score by the linebacker late in the third quarter that would have pulled the 49ers within 20-12.

Kicker Phil Dawson connected on 54 and 26-yard field goals in the first half, the third time this year his kicks have accounted for his team's only points.

Foles hit 14 of 23 passes for 191 yards for the Rams, while kicker Greg Zuerlein added a 38-yard field goal and linebacker James Laurinaitis notched a first quarter safety when he tackled Davis in the end zone.

St. Louis allowed only 38 yards in 21 rushes.

"We're playing with a lot of confidence, flying to the ball," said safety-turned-linebacker Mark Barron.

NOTES: San Francisco hasn't scored a touchdown in nine quarters, dating back to a 25-20 win Oct. 18 against Baltimore. ... St. Louis entered Sunday's game tied for the NFL lead in fumble recoveries with eight. ... The 49ers also lost TE Garrett Celek (concussion), backup SS L.J. McCray (knee) and P Bradley Pinion (calf) to game-ending injuries.