MIKE SINGLETARY GOT his wish.

Three weeks ago, he shouted: "I want winners!" Finally, he got them. For at least one game. Don't expect many encores from his, ahem, winners.

Singletary's first win in three eternally memorable games as the 49ers' interim coach came in 35-16 fashion Sunday against, to quote 49ers lore, "the same old, sorry (expletive) St . Louis Rams ."

Yes, the Rams are that bad.

Are the 49ers that good? Heavens no.

This was fool's gold. This was the NFL's version of a soup kitchen feeding the needy. This will not happen again, specifically the ant-colony-like construction of a 35-3 halftime lead.

Sorry for the detour to Negative Town, but a reality check is in order. You shouldn't get so delusional that you expect the 49ers (3-7) to run the table over their final six games, no disrespect to running back Frank Gore's postgame fantasy.

"How many games we got left, six?" Gore asked. "We should be able to win the next six, if we keep playing as one."

One great half against the Rams (2-8) doesn't make a team a bona fide contender. These Rams, after all, have been outscored 99-10 in the first half of their past three games combined, including a 40-0 skunking last week at the New York Jets.

So just be careful with that anointing oil, folks.

Do not bank on the quarterback to continue posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the first half, which is what the 49ers got Sunday from Shaun Hill, whom Mike Martz has cleverly stashed away for this season's second-half surge.

As inspirational as Hill has been (with and without his helmet) in two starts, he's not perfect. In case you were among the thousands who retreated to their parking-lot tailgates at halftime, you missed Hill getting sacked on third-down plays on back-to-back possessions after halftime.

At least Hill's not delusional about this win's power.

"Obviously this thing is not over by a long shot," Hill said. "Enjoy the win, but we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

Hill's work regimen is certainly a lot more fun to watch than that of J.T. O'Sullivan, he of the 17-turnover variety. But O'Sullivan, Hill or even you could have shredded the Rams defense in Sunday's first half. So, again, don't get caught up in one half of hysteria.

It's also not every game Gore rebounds from an early fumble and delivers two touchdowns, with Sunday being his first multitouchdown game this season.

And it's not every game your hapless opponent graciously commits three turnovers in the first half, and you convert them into three straight touchdown drives.

The 49ers let up after intermission, and even if that's allowed to an extent, we here in Negative Town must note they were outscored 13-0 after halftime. Singletary's explanation: "Mike Martz did a heck of a job controlling himself and not winging that thing."

Martz had enough fun in the first half. He even called Michael Robinson's number again from the 1-yard line, only to be (surprise!) denied a touchdown, which Hill scored anyhow on the next play.

The 49ers now leave those friendly confines of Candlestick to play four of their next five on the road. They're at Dallas, at Buffalo, home against the New York Favres on Dec. 7, then back on the road at Miami and St. Louis before the Dec. 28 finale against Washington here.

On Sunday, it was finally time they stepped out of Singletary's shadow (see: ejection of Vernon Davis, postgame sermon, halftime pants party, last-minute meltdown).

"This is not Mike Singletary's team. This is our team," Singletary said. "If they don't understand that, we're going to come up short."

Singletary demanded at halftime (fully clothed, by the way) that his players "finish," and he agreed they certainly didn't do so by committing three consecutive false-start penalties to open the fourth quarter near their goal line.

At about the same time, reclusive 49ers owner Denise DeBartolo York sauntered on to the 49ers sideline (15 yards away from the players) and watched the fourth quarter from there.

What she saw was a 49ers team nervously count down the minutes of a much-needed win. She did not see a team finish in dominant fashion, the way the 49ers would have in the glory days.

Just because there was finally a different result for the 49ers on this day, don't expect this to be the start of a seven-game win streak. It was simply the euthanizing of a long losing streak.

Contact Cam Inman at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com