Rams’ defence stuffs Seahawks 20-3

ST. LOUIS - Steven Jackson was a question mark until the first snap.

There was no way he was going to miss this one for the St. Louis Rams. So, he went out and showed theSeattle Seahawks he could play hurt and still make a big impact.

"I knew I wouldn't be 100 per cent, but I knew I had enough to give," said Jackson, who blocked out a strained groin Sunday. "I feel like the team is going in the right direction and I wanted to be a part of it."

The two-time Pro Bowler had 126 yards rushing and receiving, complementing another strong game by No. 1 pick Sam Bradford(notes) and a stout defense in a 20-3 victory Sunday that gave the Rams consecutive wins for the first time in two seasons.

Bradford, who threw two touchdown passes, knew he wouldn't have been nearly as effective without the two-time Pro Bowler in the lineup.

"I never doubted he would be out there," Bradford said. "He's a huge part of this offense. Anytime he's in the huddle, there's no doubt that it boosts the spirits of everyone in the huddle."

Jackson had 70 yards on 22 carries to pass Marshall Faulk for No. 2 on the Rams' rushing list, shaking off an injury that sidelined him the second half of last week's win over the Redskins. He added three catches for 54 yards, including a 49-yarder before Kenneth Darby(notes) scored on a 21-yard screen pass.

Officials stopped the game after a 15-yard gain early in the fourth quarter put Jackson ahead of Faulk. Jackson has 6,991 yards in seven seasons with the Rams and trails only Eric Dickerson, who had 7,245 yards from 1983-87.

"From Day 1, I set a tone that I wanted to leave here putting my footprint on this organization," Jackson said. "It's very meaningful, but I ain't in first place."

Bradford completed 23 of 41 passes with one interception as the Rams (2-2) ended a 10-game losing streak against Seattle and topped their win total from last year.

"It feels great," Bradford said. "To get ourselves to 2-2 and just be in the conversation for the division lead, I think that's big for this team."

Big for the Rams to get such poise so soon.

"We got after him pretty good, we chased him around a lot," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "We're looking at a guy that's going to be a really big-timer."

The last time St. Louis won games was Weeks 5 and 6 of 2008 under interim head coach Jim Haslett.

Throughout the week, coach Steve Spagnuolo made sure players weren't content with winning just once.

"I was a little concerned that the hunger was gone," Spagnuolo said. "I thought the team came out with the right mind-set."

The Rams sacked Matt Hasselbeck(notes) four times, had one interception and forced a fumble. St. Louis' special teams bottled up returner Leon Washington(notes), who had two touchdown returns last week, and Golden Tate(notes),who had been averaging 25 yards on punt returns. There was no daylight for Washington (26.7 yard average) or Tate (6.0 yards) against the Rams.

"Excellent," Spagnuolo said. "I spent time talking about it and I don't know anything about special teams. There was a fire, an intent."

The Seahawks peaked with a 14-play drive in the first half that stalled, leaving them with only a chip-shot field goal by Olindo Mare(notes). The Rams foiled a fake 51-yard attempt near the end of the half when Darby ran down holder Jon Ryan(notes) on a would-be roll-out pass to John Carlson(notes).

Seattle averaged 29 points during its 10-game streak over the Rams dating to 2005, but is 3-18 in its last 21 road games. Two of the victories came in St. Louis.

The Seahawks scored their fewest points since a 44-6 loss Oct. 5, 2008, at the New York Giants.

"I give them credit, but that's not really the issue for us," Hasselbeck said. "We've got to get better and I've got to get better. I know I can and I know we can."

The Rams led 10-3 at the half, but missed a couple of chances in the second quarter that would have made it a much wider gap.

Brandon Fletcher's interception return to the 3 was wasted on Earl Thomas'(notes) end zone pick for Seattle, an errant throw that had a dismayed Bradford holding his helmet with both hands on his way to the sideline.

Notes: Rams CB Kevin Dockery(notes) injured his right hamstring in the third quarter after sustaining facial lacerations on the Seahawks' foiled fake field goal in the half. … Seahawks LB Dexter Davis(notes) (hamstring) was sidelined in the second half. … The Rams last held an opponent to single-figure scoring in a 9-7 loss at Washington in Week 2 last season. … Seattle scored at least 23 points in all 10 of the victories in its streak against St. Louis.

Rams revel in victory after 10 straight losses

BY JIM THOMAS 

Those left in the crowd of 52,370 counted down the final seconds as if they were in Times Square on New Year's Eve. Wide receiver Brandon Gibson couldn't help himself, he borrowed the huge Rams flag from the normal flag-bearer guy and started waving it.

"I asked him, ‘Can I wave it for a little bit?' " Gibson said. "He let me have it. It was fun."

In the locker room afterward, there were smiles and shouts. Owner Stan Kroenke worked the room, congratulating his victorious team. Center Jason Brown presented coach Steve Spagnuolo with a game ball.

"Big Jason gave it to him because Spags has stuck with us all the way," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "He's never, ever given up hope on this team."

So this is what it's like after a win - which the Rams did, 30-16 Sunday over the Washington Redskins. The Rams had lost 10 in a row since last year's 17-10 victory at Detroit on Nov. 1.

And this is what it's like to win at home - the Rams had lost 14 in a row in the Edward Jones Dome since a 34-14 victory over Dallas on Oct. 19, 2008.

"Let's face it, we didn't want to be faced with 0-3," Spagnuolo said. "We've been in two prior games where we certainly all felt we could have won, and we didn't. So you were looking for find a way to win, and we did that. We did that today even in the middle of a lot of adversity."

The Rams squandered a 14-0 first-quarter lead, in the process losing offensive captain Steven Jackson (groin) and defensive captain Oshiomogho Atogwe (thigh). They had another field goal blocked, this one practically from extra point range - a 21-yarder at the end of the first half.

And when Donovan McNabb connected with Santana Moss for a 56-yard gain to open the second half, and the Redskins subsequently took a 16-14 lead on a field goal, it looked like yet another case of here we go again.

The Rams had suffered narrow, wrenching defeats against Arizona and Oakland, squandering second-half leads in both games. They appeared headed down that all-too-familiar road Sunday, but then a funny thing happened. They regrouped, exhaled and scored the game's final 16 points on a Kenneth Darby touchdown and three Josh Brown field goals.

"You don't play the game to kinda get close," Josh Brown said. "You play the game to win. ... This is pure excitement. This is what the game's about."

Unless, of course, you happened to be in the visitors' locker room, where the Redskins are now 1-2.

"They just flat-out whipped our (butt)," Washington linebacker Brian Orakpo said. "In the first part of the game, they came right out at us, and we weren't ready. Thirty points, that's very unacceptable. They just kept hitting us with big plays."

The Rams' offense ... and big plays. Normally those words aren't used in the same sentence. But it did happen over and over again Sunday. Before his injury, Jackson rambled 42 yards for a TD on the Rams' opening drive, getting a great downfield block from Jason Brown that cut off the pursuit.

On the next Washington possession, safety James Butler scooped up a Moss fumble and raced 49 yards to the Redskins' 3. Two plays later, quarterback Sam Bradford rolled right and looked into the back corner of the end zone for tight end Daniel Fells.

Fells was covered by Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall. But when Hall came up to challenge Bradford, who was running toward the end zone, Bradford pulled up and tossed the ball to a wide-open Fells for a TD and a 14-0 Rams lead just 6 minutes into the game.

"Sam made a great read," Fells said. "He made a double-read. He faked like he was going to run the ball, and then just dumped it off at the corner of the end zone."

But when Jackson went down, it looked pretty bleak, right?

"Obviously, I was hoping it was only going to be for a play or two," Bradford said, smiling. "I thought maybe he just needed a breather. That's what I was hoping. Then to realize that he wasn't going to come back to the game, I think that just meant that everyone on our offense was going to need to step up."

And that's what happened. Immediately following that go-ahead field goal in the third quarter by Washington kicker Graham Gano, the Rams put together a 74-yard touchdown drive that included third-and-long completions by Bradford to Fells and rookie Mardy Gilyard, capped by a 12-yard run by Darby for his first NFL score.

Washington didn't cross midfield until the final minute of the game against a Rams defense that has yet to give up more than 17 points in a game this season. Meanwhile, the Rams tacked on those three field goals, with the help of two long catch-and-run plays by Mark Clayton (30 and 25 yards). There was also a successful fourth-and-inches gamble from the Washington 43 when it was still a one-possession game midway through the fourth quarter.

"Now we know that feeling of what it means to pull a close one out," Laurinaitis said. "I think that's important. You can talk about it, encourage it, and all that stuff. But until you actually feel it. ..."

Now, they finally know that feeling.

Tight ends suffer MCL injuries

BY KATHLEEN NELSON | Posted: Monday, September 20, 2010 2:36 pm

A pair of Rams tight ends suffered injuries to the medial collateral ligaments but at this point have different prognoses.

Rams' tight ends suffer MCL injuries.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said that Billy Bajema's MCL injury could take two to four weeks to heal but that trainer Reggie Scott listed  Daniel Fells as day to day with his MCL strain.

Defensive tackle Darell Scott underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, an injury that commonly takes a month to heal.

"We'll see how long that takes. We'll probably not have him this week," Spagnuolo said.

Safety Craig Dahl will undergo post-concussion tests Tuesday. Spagnuolo said he was resting Monday. Dahl suffered the concussion on a hit to Raiders' running back Darren McFadden.

Defensive tackle Clifton Ryan also will undergo further testing. He was hospitalized overnight Wednesday for what seem to be migraines and did not play in the Rams' 16-14 loss Sunday in Oakland.

"We want to make sure everything is eliminated," Spagnuolo said.

Spagnuolo said running back Steven Jackson's knee and Rodger Saffold's back were sore but that both appeared OK.

Other players appear to be on the mend. Cornerback Justin King (hamstring) is expected back at practice Wedensday. Both LB Chris Chamberlain and TE Michael Hoomanuwanui are out of the cast/boot  each was wearing as a result of foot and ankle injuries, respectively.