The Rams walked out of the Edward Jones Dome with a victory Sunday. The only problem was the only victory they got was beating themselves. The win they wanted did not come as they fell to the Cardinals 34-20. St. Louis was unable to recover from three turnovers and 126 yards in penalties.
Rams quarterback Marc Bulger was visibly unhappy after the game, and it did not take long before he was audibly unhappy.
“I know there’s some guys in here who don’t care… They get a paycheck on Monday and that’s it,” whispered Bulger.
Bulger did not speak loud enough for any of his teammates to hear, but word quickly spread. Offensive lineman Richie Incognito shook off the comments.
“I have no reaction to that. It’s not coming here,” Incognito said. “That wasn’t directed at me, so I don’t have anything to say about that.”
Most players would prefer teammates not air that kind of dirty laundry with the media. Bulger apparently did not take heed to that. Rams sack leader Leonard Little was unhappy with Bulger’s statements.
“No time to point fingers, no time to dwell on anything,” said Little. “That’s his opinion. If he sees that, and he’s a leader on this team, he should approach that person, whoever it is, and get it squared away.”
St. Louis owns the NFL’s worst defense against the run and Arizona exposed it. Edgerrin James rushed for 115 yards, the first time he reached the 100-yard plateau all season. Marcel Shipp scored three touchdowns. Arizona’s gameplan going in was to run the ball down the Rams throat.
“We just felt like we had a good gameplan going in. We felt like we could run the ball obviously, which we did today. I think that made the game a lot easier,” said wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
Matt Leinart won his second game in seven starts, but just the first on the road. Leinart was not overwhelming, but did just enough to get his team a win. He finished the game 15-of-24 for 186 yards and a touchdown. The biggest number that stood out was zero turnovers.
The Rams have dropped six of seven and have put themselves in a hole to make the playoffs.
“You can make the playoffs in this league at 8-8,” Rams coach Scott Linehan said after the game. “Our season is not over. No way are we approaching it that way.”
At 5-7, the Rams must win three of its last four to finish 8-8. They’ll host Chicago on Monday Night Football.