EARTH CITY, Mo. — There is no book or manual that educates athletes on how to win. Mostly, it just happens, thanks to a combination of excellent players, confidence and sometimes, the breaks going a team’s way.

Even so, coaches often will say solemnly, “Our guys have to learn how to win.”

For the St. Louis Rams, coach Jeff Fisher hopes his team is getting closer to being able to win games consistently and can build off an improbable 13-10 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

“I know I said this before, but teaching a young team how to win close games is not an easy thing, and it doesn’t get any closer than that one today,” Fisher said Sunday. “I’m just really happy for them.”

Happy because things looked so bleak for the Rams last week that they weren’t able to conduct a normal Wednesday practice due to the number of injuries coming out of a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs the previous Sunday.

The Rams listed 13 players on their injury report all week. On Wednesday, had they held a regular practice, eight players wouldn’t have participated, and five would have been limited. That number didn’t include tackle Jake Long and wide receiver Brian Quick, who were placed on reserve/injured.

Those two were part of an unprecedented total of 19 roster changes during the week that included eight involving the 53-man roster.

As Fisher said after the win over the 49ers, regarding why he was happy for the players, “Considering what happened last weekend with the injuries and the uncertainty we had and the walk-through. The walk-through on Wednesday, playing a team that had the week off and for them to hang in there and play the way they did was just really a tribute to them.

“It’s a big win for us given the circumstances. The fact that I don’t think anyone thought we’d come in here and pull it off, so that’s just a tribute to the personalities of the guys in the locker room.”

The Rams had three offensive linemen injured against the Chiefs, including Long, but left guard Rodger Saffold and center Scott Wells were both able to start against the 49ers and go the distance. Wells played with a large brace on his right (snapping) arm that protected an injured elbow. Rookie Greg Robinson made his first start at left tackle. The five starting offensive linemen played all 55 of the Rams’ offensive snaps.

“Wednesday we couldn’t even practice,” quarterback Austin Davis said. “Our offensive line was just beat up, and everybody worked and got back, and we got everybody back on the field and focused on Sunday. They did a great job of coming out, playing hard and finding a way to win. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it’s a great win.”

After Wednesday’s walk-through, Fisher said the goal was simply to get as many players ready as possible for the game. It turned out that cornerback Janoris Jenkins was the only one of the 13 unable to play because of injury. Safety Cody Davis was inactive, but he was cleared to play after sustaining a concussion against the Chiefs.

Asked how he was able to get the team thinking positive with everything that went on during the week, Fisher said, “This team listens very well, and I spoke with them on Wednesday. I actually talked to them on Monday and then Wednesday and told them we’d be back by kickoff as long as they trust us and we did the right things. They did. They came back and had a lot of energy.”

Added Davis, who threw two costly interceptions and ended the day with a passer rating of 44.6 as part of an offense that gained only 193 yards, “It doesn’t matter how you do it or what it looks like, it just matters how the score is at the end. I think guys did a great job of just staying focused on what we had to do and getting more points than they did when the final whistle blew.”

Now, the Rams go on the road again to play the division rival Arizona Cardinals (7-1) and then come home to play the Denver Broncos.

Fisher knows the task ahead.

“We’ve got to take this and turn it into a positive and move on and see if we can win two in a row now,” he said.