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Rams roll over Saints for first win

Nov 11, 2007 - 11:21 PM By Ed Cassiere PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - Marc Bulger and the St. Louis Rams finally won, and they made it look easy against one of the NFL's hottest teams.

Bulger passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, leading St. Louis to its first victory of the season, 37-29, over the New Orleans Saints.

Bulger completed 27-of-33 passes, including touchdowns of 9 yards to wide receiver Isaac Bruce and 3 yards to wideout Drew Bennett, and directed the Rams (1-8) to four other scores in a span of seven possessions.

St. Louis (1-8) entered the contest with an 0-4 record on the road and had been outscored 114-19 away from Edward Jones Dome.

"It feels great to win, regardless of the opponent," said Bulger, who entered the game with a 64.3 passing rating that ranked 31st in the league. "This is an amazing game. For some reason it all came together today. I got a lot of time from the line up front and just made the throws."

On the other hand, the Saints (4-5) entered the game with four consecutive victories after an 0-4 start and had moved to within a half-game of NFC South leader Tampa Bay.

But after Saints halfback Reggie Bush scored on a 7-yard run on the game's opening possession, the Rams dominated.

On the Saints' next six possessions, they went three-and-out twice, and safety Oshiomogho Atogwe and linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa each intercepted New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.

"We felt we could (win)," Tinoisamoa said, "but to actually do it is still kind of magical right now. I don't even know how to explain it."

St. Louis answered New Orleans' early touchdown with three consecutive scores - Steven Jackson's 1-yard run, Jackson's 2-yard pass to Randy McMichael and Jeff Wilkins' 49-yard field goal - to take a 17-7 halftime lead.

The Rams extended the lead to 34-7 in the second half on Wilkins' 21-yard field goal and Bulger's TD connections with Bruce and Bennett. Rookie halfback Antonio Pittman, released by the Saints prior to the season, set up Bennett's touchdown with a 40-yard run to the New Orleans 1-yard line.

"It's not about the rah-rah or pregame speeches. It's about going out and playing the way the game is supposed to be played," Rams coach Scott Linehan said. "The Saints are a scary team. We knew this game was going to require points for us."

Jackson, in his second game since missing four in a row because of a groin injury, rushed 22 times for 76 yards. Torry Holt caught eight passes for 124 yards, both season bests.

The Saints made it interesting late with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the Rams recovered an onsides kick with 29 seconds remaining to end it.

"We struggled," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "We can't get this one back. We tried to make a game of it, but it wasn't even close like the score indicates."

Brees sandwiched a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Billy Miller and a 7-yard score to tight end Eric Johnson around a 2-yard run by Aaron Stecker during the Saints' comeback.

Brees finished 25-of-36 for 272 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was 16-of-22 for 204 yards in the fourth quarter.

The Saints' Marques Colston had his second consecutive 100-yard game, catching eight passes for 129 yards. But the Rams limited Bush to a combined 44 yards rushing and receiving, his second-lowest total of the season.

"We're still fine," Brees said. "We've bounced back from a lot tougher than this. Obviously we wanted to keep the streak going, but at some point it ends, and now we start a new streak.

"We're sitting here at 4-5, and we still have the division (championship) and all of our goals sitting in front of us. Obviously there's not a whole lot of room for error, but we've been there before."