St. Louis
Rams

At halftime, Arizona led 21-3 and had outgained the Rams 327-112. In those three scoring drives, Arizona gained 270 yards on 24 plays, and it reached third down only twice. Seven times the Cardinals made first downs on first-and-10.

Quarterback Kurt Warner completed 15 of 19 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 146.3 in the first two quarters. Arizona rushed for 126 yards in the first half and averaged 8.4 yards per carry.

However, moving to his right to pass late in the half, Warner was tackled from behind by safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, landing hard on his head. Warner ended up sitting out the Cardinals' final possession of the first half, and he watched the entire second half.

He saw the offense sputter behind Matt Leinart, and the Rams got back in the game.

Asked if Warner's absence had an effect, Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said, "I think so. I mean, let's face it. Any team that loses their starting quarterback, it's tough. You haven't practiced with the second guy all week. But I do think I would credit the defense. I mean, they rose up and played; you have to play. I mean, it's the NFL and you have to play. Not sure that the calls were any different. I think the guys just decided that they were going to get us back in the football game, and they did."

Said Atogwe, "He's been doing it for the last 12 years, and that's why he's one of the best."

As for what was happening when Warner was playing, Spagnuolo acknowledged, "We've got some issues obviously with the long plays on defense. We need to solve that. Until we solve that, it's always going to be that kind of game where we're always going to be playing uphill, so that's something that we'll focus on."

Rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis had 16 tackles (according to press box statistics), but realized the defense put the team in too big a hole.

Said Laurinaitis, "They came out and got some big runs on us. There were some things where guys just got tripped up. You can't give up 21 points in the first half. You can't put yourself behind like that. We fought hard again, and that's the thing; the character and resilience of this team. The last two weeks we've been fighting hard, never giving up, and we had a chance at the end there. There are definitely things we've got to do better. We can't give them 21 points off the bat like that. Really, in hindsight, as long as the guys keep working and we iron out the little things, we can turn this around."

If they are able to turn it around, at least on offense, it will be without quarterback Marc Bulger for at least three weeks and possibly the remainder of the season.

Bulger was known to have suffered an injury in his hamstring/groin area Sunday, while also taking a shot to the head. He had an MRI Monday morning for the muscle issue, which was said to be a strain, and was scheduled to undergo concussion testing Tuesday.

However, after the MRI, he mentioned to trainers that his left knee was bothering him. When swelling was detected, Bulger was sent for another MRI, which revealed a tibial plateau fracture. The tibial plateau is the upper surface of the tibia or shin bone.

The Rams announced that Bulger won't need knee surgery and that the time frame for recovery is three-to-six weeks.

With Bulger out, Kyle Boller becomes the starter and rookie Keith Null is the backup. The Rams have not said whether they will look for another quarterback at this time.

Gibson agreed, saying, "My biggest thing is not leaving plays on the field, and that's what I did today. I'm frustrated at myself because I know I can play at a high level. I think we've just got to get on the same page, me and Marc.

"There were just some things that I did, and we just weren't on the same page there on the goal line. That's two plays that stick out in my head, and I've got to do my best to come down with those balls."

--Running back Steven Jackson became the first running back in Rams history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in five consecutive seasons. With 116 yards Sunday, Jackson has 1,031 yards this year.

Asked about the accomplishment, Jackson said, "Well, it feels good. It would feel a lot better if we got it with a win. Although statistically it only says 'Steven Jackson' next to that, I share this with my whole offensive line and my fullback (Mike Karney). I'm really proud of the work we've done so far. Hopefully, we can turn the success into wins as a team."

Said coach Steve Spagnuolo, "I went in there and I grabbed him and told him I was really proud of him. That's something special. Everybody ought to recognize that, he ought to think about that tonight because it's special. Not a lot of guys are able to do that. I know that down deep that's not the most important thing to him because I know the kind of guy he is, but I think we ought to tip our hat to him and credit the offensive line as well."

--The offensive line had to shuffle on several occasions during the game, with Adam Goldberg ending up at three positions.

Goldberg began the game at right guard with Richie Incognito sidelined for the third game because of a foot injury. Goldberg played a series at left tackle at the start of the second half when Alex Barron was late coming out of the locker room while he was getting his ankle re-taped, and Goldberg finished the game at right tackle after rookie Jason Smith was hit in the head late in the third quarter.

When Goldberg was at tackle, Mark Setterstrom played right guard.

--A personal foul on Goldberg hurt the Rams when they were trailing 21-13 late in the fourth quarter but had a first down at the Arizona 13-yard line. A first-down pass was incomplete, but Goldberg was flagged for unnecessary roughness. After the penalty was announced, Goldberg was incredulous.

"I was extremely surprised," Goldberg said. "Anybody that knows me knows I'm not a cheap player. I think that's my first-ever personal foul in my seven-year career. But he made the call and I have to live with it. That's the world I live in.

"I apologize to my guys for putting us behind the 8-ball down-and-distance wise, and I think they all understand. They know me. They know I wouldn't do anything that stupid. They understand I couldn't see the ball gone."

In a pool report, referee Bill Leavy explained, "(He) knocked the defender down well after the pass was released, and in my judgment, unnecessarily hit the player after the ball had been gone."

--RB Steven Jackson will be treated this week for some lower back soreness he experienced coming out of Sunday's game against Arizona.

--OT Alex Barron suffered a mild sprain of his ankle Sunday against Arizona, and he wasn't able to run Monday in conditioning work.

--OT Jason Smith, who missed most the fourth quarter Sunday after suffering a blow to the head, will have a concussion baseline test Tuesday. Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Monday that Smith "seemed to be OK today."

--RG Richie Incognito, who has missed three games because of a foot injury, might return this week. Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Incognito was able to run without irritation Monday.

--LB Chris Chamberlain, the team's leading tackler on special teams, suffered a mild ankle injury Sunday and also had a blow to the head. He will be given a concussion baseline test Tuesday.

--FB Mike Karney was undergoing an MRI Monday for a possible neck injury.

--DE Chris Long, who played with a bruised knee Sunday, came through the game OK, although he was dealing with soreness Monday.

REPORT CARD VS. CARDINALS

PASSING OFFENSE: C -- It was a roller-coaster type game for the passing attack. QB Marc Bulger was inconsistent, some of that due to the inexperience of WR Brandon Gibson. There were 17 passes targeted for Gibson, but only five were complete. Several misfired because of adjustment issues Gibson is learning in the first extensive action of his rookie season. WR Danny Amendola had an outstanding catch on a 25-yard play that led to the only touchdown.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus -- RB Steven Jackson had his fourth consecutive 100-yard game, but the ground attack was stymied most of the game. Aside from Jackson's 48-yard run, he totaled 68 yards on his other 23 attempts. Eighteen of his carries totaled 30 yards, with nine of 1 yard or less.

PASS DEFENSE: D -- Hard not to give an F, considering the combination of QBs Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart completed 25 of 33 passes for 277 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 120.4. Warner passed for 203 yards and a rating of 146.3 in the first half. Most of Leinart's 10 completions went to running backs, but he did complete a 20-yard pass on third-and-4 from his own 13-yard line that helped field position and took another 90 seconds off the clock before the Rams got the ball back.

RUSH DEFENSE: F -- Hard to give anything but an F here, after the Cardinals rushed for 183 yards, with 126 in the first half. In the first two quarters, the Rams allowed six runs of 10 yards or more, and those runs totaled 117 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A -- After a rough outing against New Orleans, the Rams were strong on coverage, and KR Danny Amendola averaged 30.3 yards on three kickoff returns. P Donnie Jones averaged 51.3 yards, with a 46.5 net average.

COACHING: C -- Someone on the coaching staff should have noticed a suspect spot of the ball on a key third-and-1 run by Jackson and told head coach Steve Spagnuolo to challenge. The strategy near the end of the game was also questionable. Trailing 21-13 with 3:46 to play and facing fourth-and-4 from the Arizona 7-yard line, the decision was to go for the touchdown. The Rams had all of their timeouts. A field goal would have cut the lead to five, and a subsequent touchdown would have given them a lead, rather than needing a two-point conversion to tie.