EARTH CITY, Mo. — With the defending champion Seattle Seahawks coming to St. Louis Sunday, the St. Louis Rams are trying to maintain a positive attitude.

However, it’s difficult after the Rams fell to 1-4 with a 31-17 loss to the 49ers Monday night, the second time this season they built an early lead only to fritter it away.

Previously, the Rams lost to Dallas after taking a 21-0 lead. The loss to the 49ers was also the team’s sixth consecutive defeat in the division following a season-opening win over Arizona last year.

Said quarterback Austin Davis, “We’ve got a short week and we’ve got the world champions coming to play, so we can’t really focus on the record. We’ve got to get back to work and keep building on the positive things we’re doing. That’s all we can do.”

There were positives in another game that was a tale of two halves. In the first half, Davis completed 11-of-14 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and a 131.2 passer rating. The second half was the opposite. On their first four possessions of the second half, the Rams ran 19 plays for 20 yards and at one point Davis had eight consecutive incompletions.

Asked about the second-half stagnancy, Davis said, “I thought they had us covered pretty tightly at times, but there were throws to be made and I know there were check-downs, probably. I probably flushed the pocket a little too soon at times. I’m looking forward to seeing that and seeing what I can learn from it.”

The tide of the game appeared to turn late in the first half when tight end Jared Cook was called for a dubious offensive pass interference call. On third-and-9 from the 49ers 46-yard line and leading 14-3, Davis hit Cook for a 21-yard gain, but Cook was inexplicably penalized.

Asked what he was told by the official, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said, “I didn’t get much of an explanation. I was a little confused as to what he was trying to say, so I just let it go. I saw it on the tape and a receiver has the right to run his route, disappointed in that … If anything it was a defensive foul.”

The Rams subsequently punted and on third-and-6 from their own 20 with 27 seconds remaining and the clock running, cornerback Janoris Jenkins played press coverage on wide receiver Brandon Lloyd on a zone call. Jenkins then guessed wrong and Lloyd got behind him on a double move, catching quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s pass in stride for an 80-yard touchdown.

Suddenly, instead of the Rams possibly leading 17-3 or 21-3 had the Cook penalty not been called, the lead was cut to 14-10 at halftime.

Fisher said of Jenkins, “It was a double move and he should stay on top. In retrospect we should probably not put him in that position. They were stalling a little bit, letting the clock run down. We have to get better than that as coaches and as players.”

Linebacker James Laurinaitis put it on the players, calling defensive coordinator Gregg Williams “the smartest play-caller I’ve ever been around.” He added, “We have to play the defenses that are called. I sound like a broken record but we have to play what we call. We have to execute the defense. It’s definitely not the scheme. We just have to execute. That’s all I can really say. We have the guys in here and the guys know it, but for some reason we aren’t putting together full games, and until we do that we are going to keep getting the same results. Teams are too good to not do what you need to do every single time. We just have to execute.”

On the Jenkins play, Laurinaitis said, “We’re just in zone coverage. I’m not going to throw anybody under the bus. We had this coverage in specifically for this team and we just have to execute it.”

REPORT CARD VS. 49ERS

PASSING OFFENSE: C – It was an A in the first half and an F in the final two quarters. QB Austin Davis was 10-for-28 for 99 yards in the second half, and on the first four possessions of the second half he was 2-for-12 for 13 yards. With two sacks for minus-9 yards, the net passing was 4 yards as the 49ers went from down 14-10 at the half to ahead 24-14. Then, after a drive resulted in a field goal and cut the 49ers lead to 24-17, Davis had a pass intercepted by Dontae Johnson and returned 20 yards for a touchdown. In each of the Rams’ four losses, Davis has had a turnover that resulted in a touchdown: three interceptions and a sack/fumble recovered in the end zone.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus – Also a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Rams’ running backs and WR Tavon Austin had 17 attempts for 76 yards. But, as they fell behind and couldn’t make first downs, they only ran seven times for 18 yards in the final two quarters. Rookie Tre Mason might have earned more playing time with 40 yards on five carries.

PASS DEFENSE: F – It was good for most of the first half until CB Janoris Jenkins helped open the floodgates by allowing WR Brandon Lloyd to get behind him for an 80-yard touchdown. To that point, QB Colin Kaepernick was 10-for-15 for 112 yards. From Lloyd’s touchdown on, Kaepernick was 12-for-21 for 231 yards and three touchdowns. For the fourth game this season, the Rams did not have a sack.

RUSH DEFENSE: A – There was little running room for RBs Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde. Gore had just 38 yards on 16 carries with a long of 9, while Hyde had 11 carries for 14 yards with a long of 6. The Rams were able to keep the game from becoming a three-score game twice in the fourth quarter, stopping Gore on fourth-and-1 at the 34-yard line and stuffing Hyde on two consecutive runs from inside the 1-yard line. They were able to get the ball back when it was a one-score game, limiting Hyde to 1-yard gains on second-and-5 and third-and-4.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B – They were better than the week before against Philadelphia, as P Johnny Hekker had a 40.3-yard net and dropped two punts inside the 20-yard line. He did have one 13-yard punt that might have been partially blocked. K Greg Zuerlein had a 38-yard field goal. The kick coverage was strong as Zuerlein had three touchbacks on kickoffs and the punt coverage limited the 49ers to a 6.8-yard average on four returns. Austin had a mere 12 yards on two punt returns, while Benny Cunningham had a 31-yard kickoff return, although it was on the final return of the game,

COACHING: B – Head coach Jeff Fisher sent a message to his team with the release last week of LB Ray Ray Armstrong, who played mostly on special teams. Overall, the Rams had eight penalties, but they were for only 38 yards. Of course, three penalties were deep in their own territory and would have totaled another 33 yards, instead losing just 3 yards. The question is whether Fisher will be able to get the attention of CB Janoris Jenkins, who gives up more big plays taking chances than he makes.