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S-Jax has been the workhorse of the offense his entire career. He has always been near the top of the league in carries, and he has made good use of his chances.

Seven straight 1,000-plus-yard seasons, incredible when you consider how defenses load up the box and focus on shutting him down. But for a variety of reasons, Jackson has only had one year with double-digit touchdowns.

That will change in 2012 as the offensive line will find some stability, and new game-breaking receivers will come in to take some of the pressure off the running game. Steven Jackson will barely break the plane with 10 touchdowns next season, but will add that to an eighth straight 1,000-yard season. 

SEATTLE (AP) — The Skittles came flying out of the stands, close enough that
Marshawn Lynch
was regretting not catching his favorite candy in midair and taking it back to the sideline.

Too bad. He could have shared his reward with
Doug Baldwin
.

“I could have caught them, that’s how close they got to me,” Lynch said.

Baldwin, an undrafted rookie out of Stanford, showed the rest of the NFL what it missed Monday night. He blocked a first-quarter
punt that was returned by
Michael Robinson
17 yards for a touchdown, then caught a 29-yard TD pass from
Tarvaris Jackson
in the third period as the
Seattle Seahawks
pulled away for a 30-13 win over the staggering St. Louis Rams.

Seattle (6-7) won for the fourth time in five games and kept alive its slim hopes for reaching the postseason. The Seahawks
likely would need to win out to potentially make the playoffs a reality, but they’re at least back in the conversation after
a 2-6 start.

Much of this late-season rally has been on the back of Lynch, who is making a push for a reward beyond sweets this offseason
– a big contract as a free agent.

Lynch topped 100 yards rushing for the fifth time in the last six games, finishing with 115 on 23 carries. He scored a touchdown
in his ninth straight game on a 16-yard run with 2:57 left to put away Seattle’s 13th win in its last 14 games against the
Rams.

Seahawks fans threw bags of Skittles into the end zone as Lynch celebrated his ninth rushing touchdown this season, and he
tied a franchise record with nine consecutive games with a TD.

“I think it’s more of a team accomplishment,” Lynch said. “It’s great to have, but that win was a lot better.”

Baldwin, who is Seattle’s leading receiver and has become the main option for Jackson, finished with seven receptions for
93 yards and his third TD catch of the season.

As a receiver, he disappeared until the third quarter when he snagged a 22-yard reception across the middle to convert a third-and-11
near midfield. On the next play, Baldwin faked going inside and broke to the sideline, losing
Darian Stewart
in coverage.
Tarvaris Jackson
found Baldwin and he got just inside the pylon to give the Seahawks a 14-point lead.

Baldwin had six of his seven catches in the second half.

“We just expect that out of him now,”
Tarvaris Jackson
said. “We expect him to go out and make plays every week.”

His catches seemed secondary to his contribution on special teams.

Baldwin’s influence on the game was evident from the start, when he took a pitch from
Leon Washington
on a kickoff reverse and returned it beyond the 40. Seattle was later forced to punt, but it was Baldwin racing from the outside
to down the punt at the Rams 6.

Then he made the biggest of his three fine special teams plays in the first 5 minutes of the game.

Coming almost entirely unblocked off the right end, Baldwin took a punt off the foot of
Donnie Jones
. The bounding ball hopped up into the arms of Robinson, who went the final 17 yards for an early 7-0 Seahawks lead.

“As far as my expectations go, I expected to be successful. I didn’t know how successful, but I expected to be able to come
in here and win a job in some capacity, because if you don’t have that confidence in yourself you’re not going to win a job,”
Baldwin said. “To be where I am now, no I didn’t expect this. But at the same time I’m not satisfied.”

Tarvaris Jackson
wasn’t his best, but didn’t need to be against the Rams. He went 21 of 32 for 224 yards and connected with nine receivers.

Seattle topped 100 yards rushing for the sixth straight game, accomplishing that feat for the first time in the same regular
season since 1996. It came behind an offensive line that lost its third starter for the season a week ago when
Russell Okung
went down with a torn pectoral muscle.

And kicker
Steven Hauschka
hit field goals of 23, 42 and 48 yards. Seattle’s only flub was a fumbled exchange late in the first half deep in the Rams’
end.

Sam Bradford
started for St. Louis (2-11) despite a high left ankle sprain that’s bothered him for nearly two months and forced him to
miss last week’s game at San Francisco. Bradford barely practiced this week and it showed as he was rusty and made poor decisions.
Bradford was 12 of 29 for 193 yards, was intercepted by
Brandon Browner
on the first play of the second half and nearly picked off on a handful of other throws.

Steven Jackson
had 50 yards rushing on 11 carries by halftime, including dashes of 11 yards twice and 10 yards once. He was limited to just
42 yards on 15 carries when the teams met a few weeks ago and the Rams were trying to exploit the Seahawks’ secondary. Jackson
finished with 63 yards on 20 carries, but was ignored for five plays from the Seattle 1 in the fourth quarter before finally
scoring on a third-and-goal plunge.

That was the extent of the highlights for the Rams.

“I feel like we’ve just lacked consistency all year,” Bradford said. “It’s just really hard to get a rhythm going when you
don’t establish the path on a run.”

Notes: Seattle LB
Leroy Hill
sustained a stinger in the closing seconds, but coach Pete Carroll thought he would be OK. Seahawks guard
Robert Gallery
was taken out late with a sore hip. …
Steven Jackson
‘s 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter was St. Louis’ first offensive TD in Seattle since September 2008. …
Brandon Lloyd
led St. Louis with five catches for 82 yards but was targeted 12 times. … Browner’s interception was his fifth of the season.
…
Josh Brown
made field goals of 46 and 29 yards for the Rams.

—

© 2011 STATS LLC

RENTON — The St. Louis Rams might have a question mark at quarterback, but the Seahawks have no doubt about their defensive priority on Monday night.

It’s stopping Steven Jackson, first, second and even third down. That’s how it always is against St. Louis.

“From seven years ago, when I first got in the league, day one, until today,” linebacker Leroy Hill said, “to beat the Rams, you have to stop Steven Jackson.”

Not many NFL teams have stopped Jackson as effectively as the Seahawks, who have faced Jackson in 14 games and never given up 100 yards rushing to him. No other team in the NFC West can say that, and only two other teams in the NFC can make that claim: the Panthers, whom he has played three times, and the Giants, whom he has faced twice.

Monday will be a prime-time opportunity to change that, but Jackson faces the uphill challenge going into the teeth of Seattle’s defensive strength while the Rams’ quarterback picture is an injury-hazed mystery.

Starter Sam Bradford missed last week’s game because of an ankle injury and couldn’t practice Thursday. Backup A.J. Feeley is almost certainly out with a thumb injury. Tom Brandstater — zero career NFL regular-season passes — took all the snaps in practice Thursday.

That leaves Jackson where he has spent so much of his NFL career: squarely in the opponent’s cross hairs.

“He’s always the focal point,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s that good of a player.”

Jackson is also one of the league’s most sympathetic stories. A running back so big, so skilled and so, so stuck in St. Louis. This will be St. Louis’ eighth consecutive season without a winning record, and Jackson has been there for all eight. The Rams haven’t made the playoffs since his rookie year of 2004, which also happens to be the only time he didn’t rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

“He’s big,” Hill said. “He’s physical. He can run around you. He reads his blocks well. He blocks well. He’s a complete back, and he shows it year in and out.”

Just not so much against Seattle, and that’s not an accident.

The teams played in Week 17 last year, the NFC West division title on the line, and the Seahawks found a way to minimize Jackson’s impact. Carroll’s staff noticed that against certain formations and personnel groupings, St. Louis had instructed Bradford to audible to a pass. The Seahawks used those alignments repeatedly, funneling St. Louis into more passes.

The result? Jackson finished with 11 carries, matching his second-fewest in any game last season.

When the teams played three weeks ago, Jackson entered having rushed for more than 125 yards in three consecutive games, but the Rams decided to spread things out against Seattle’s front-loaded defense. They lined up with four receivers on more than 25 plays, often times splitting Jackson out wide.

He finished with 42 yards rushing, his third-lowest total of the season.

That’s where Seattle’s plan will start Monday: stopping one of the league’s best backs.

Danny O’Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com.

On Twitter @dannyoneil

Steven Jackson and the Rams offense were at their best during the three-game stretch against the Saints, Cardinals and Browns. The Rams went 2-1 during those games and Jackson was the main reason why.

In those games, Jackson averaged 27 carries for an average of 139 rushing yards per contest.

In the last two games, both Rams losses, Jackson has had 15 and 17 carries for 42 and 64 yards, respectively.

That’s not enough. In order for the Rams to compete with the 49ers they must run the ball well and control the clock. Jackson may not get to 100 yards against the NFL’s top-ranked rush defense, but by giving him 25-plus carries the Rams best utilize the weapons they have.

Bradford was sacked five times, lost two fumbles and threw an interception in the Seattle Seahawks’ 24-7 victory on Sunday.

The Rams were held to 185 yards, their second-lowest total of the season and the best effort of the season by the Seahawks.

“I’m beyond frustrated right now,” Bradford said. “I’ve never been on a team that has been in this situation. I don’t like it. I hope this is the only time in my career that I’m ever in a situation like this.”

Steven Jackson had a tough day, too. Running behind an injury-filled line, Jackson was held to 42 yards on 15 carries to end a run of three straight games of 125 or more yards.

The Rams (2-8) opened without starting tackles with Rodger Saffold (pectoral) and Jason Smith (concussion). Practice squad callup Kevin Hughes was called on to play after fill-in tackle Mark Levoir injured his right shoulder in the first half.

“We just couldn’t get it together,” Jackson said. “We knew they were pretty good against the run. As the injuries occurred and things went down, we became pretty much isolated to doing certain things.”

Wide receiver Sidney Rice completed a 55-yard pass to open the game, caught a touchdown pass and drew a pass interference call to set up a field goal in the first half for Seattle.

Chris Clemons had three of Seattle’s five sacks of Bradford and also forced the Rams quarterback to fumble twice, both of which led to touchdowns.

“We did a lot of the things that we talked about as a team that we couldn’t do if we wanted to win the game,” Bradford said. “So, obviously, we have to take those things into account and not make those mistakes.

“We just have to keep going, keep fighting.”

Marshawn Lynch scored for the fourth straight week, although he missed on a third straight 100-yard game, finishing with 88 yards on 27 carries.

The Seahawks (4-6) won on consecutive weeks for the first time, following up on an upset over Baltimore, and have won 12 of 13 in the series.

Seattle improved to 2-4 on the road in a game notable for sloppy play and 19 punts, including a season-high 10 by the Rams’ Donnie Jones.

Lynch scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter, five plays after Bradford fumbled at the St. Louis 25, and Justin Forsett broke several tackles on a 22-yarder on third-and-11 to clinch it with 4:21 to go. The play came three plays after Red Bryant intercepted a pass tipped at the line by Brandon Mebane.

With under seven minutes to go in the first quarter, the Rams had two interceptions, a blocked punt and their first touchdown in the opening quarter since Jackson scored on a 47-yard run on St. Louis’ first offensive snap of the season against the Eagles.

After that, they couldn’t get going. A defense that totaled four sacks kept it close for a while, but the Rams never made it to the red zone and crossed the 50 only three times.

“I thought the defensive guys were battling their butts off,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “It’s hard to play defense when you’re behind and it’s hard to win games when you only score seven points.”

Seattle took a 10-7 lead on Steven Hauschka’s 19-yard field goal to end the half, one play after Justin King was called for interference in the end zone against Rice.

Rice executed a flea-flicker on the game’s first play, hitting Mike Williams in stride with a step on King for a 55-yard gain to the Rams 30. On the next play, Jackson was intercepted by Chris Chamberlain.

The Rams didn’t take advantage of that turnover, but Quintin Mikell’s pick on the Seahawks’ next series set up Brandon Lloyd’s 30-yard touchdown catch. Lloyd fell down on his route and then sprang to his feet to catch cornerback Richard Sherman by surprise.

Rice made his second big play on a 14-yard catch that tied it 7-all midway through the second quarter.

The Rams’ 10 first-down snaps in the half produced minus-2 yards.

Notes: Rams LB Josh Hull (hamstring) was sidelined early in the first quarter. … WR Mark Clayton had a fair catch on a punt return for St. Louis after Austin Pettis (knee) was hurt in the second half. … Former L.A. Rams QB Vince Ferragamo was introduced on the sideline in the first quarter. … The last Seahawks player to get three sacks was Patrick Kearney Dec. 12, 2007, against Arizona.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Steven Jackson is a beast.  Without Jackson, the Rams might be a historically bad team.  I’m talking 0-16 people.  Don’t believe me?

Jackson carried the Rams offense to a win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7.  Then he ran for over 100 yards again in Week 8, when the Rams should have won against the Arizona Cardinals.  In Week 9 against Cleveland, Jackson again ran for over 100 yards and led the Rams to a win on the road.

Prior to the last three weeks, Jackson has been injured, and the Rams didn’t have a clue on offense.  Sophomore QB Sam Bradford looks dazed and confused, the receiving corps is beat up and short on talent, and the offensive line is terrible.

If the Rams wanted to explore trading Jackson during the offseason, I think they could get a lot in return for him.  If you put Jackson on a good football team, where he wasn’t running against eight and nine man boxes, it would be scary to guess the numbers he might put up.

Honorable Mention: Brandon Lloyd, wide receiver.  Lloyd is a true number one receiver, and even though he has only been with the Rams for a short while, seeing Lloyd run around out there reminds Rams’ fans what an NFL wide receiver is supposed to look like.

Are you ready for some (titanically terrible, eye-gougingly bad) football, NFL fans? Then be sure to tune in when the St. Louis Rams, sans Sam Bradford, try to build on their first win of the season, against the New Orleans Saints, against the equally-pitiful (with or without Kevin Kolb) Arizona Cardinals in a battle of backup quarterbacks.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry… and then you’ll wonder why you’re not watching the other game that’s on.

That is, unless you’re a big proponent of semi-moderated train wrecks.

Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

When: Sunday, November 6th at 4:15 p.m. EST

Watch: FOX (check your local listings)

Spread: Cardinals -3 (according to sportsbook.com)

Take the Rams to beat the spread. They’re riding high after earning their first win of the season and should be able to upend the Kolb-less Cards, even on the road.

Over/Under: 41 (according to sportsbook.com)

Go with the under on this one. These two teams combine for a measly 32.8 points per game and will be hard-pressed to top that number without their starting quarterbacks on the field.

Key Injuries:

As mentioned previously (several times), both teams will be sitting their top signal callers due to injury. Sam Bradford will miss his third-straight game for St. Louis with a high ankle sprain, while Kevin Kolb is expected to sit for Arizona while nursing an injured right toe.

Fantasy Big Plays:

Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis Rams: Jackson showed in Week 8 that he’s back at full force by piling up 159 yards and two touchdowns against the Saints. With AJ Feeley still handling Bradford’s duties under center, Jackson figures to get plenty of carries against a Cards defense that’s solidly middle-of-the-pack against the run.

Beanie Wells, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Like Jackson, Beanie Wells has been slowed by injuries this season but will see the ball early and often if/when John Skelton takes over for Kolb at quarterback. If Wells’ sore knee is good to go, look for him to rack up yardage aplenty against the NFL’s worst run defense.

Brandon Lloyd, WR, St. Louis Rams: As bad as the quarterbacking is sure to be in this game, they’re going to have to throw the ball to someone eventually. For the Rams, that someone figures to be Brandon Lloyd, who’s garnered 25 targets in just two games since Denver traded him to St. Louis. He’ll get those looks in bunches against an Arizona secondary that’s among the least effective in the league this season.

Keys to St. Louis Rams Win:

The plan for the Rams is (or ought to be) simple: feed the ball to Steven Jackson and let AJ Feeley manage the game with short passes on offense, and pressure whoever is under center for Arizona until the cows come home. If that was enough for St. Louis to beat New Orleans last week, then it should be more than sufficient to get Steve Spagnuolo’s squad its second win of the season against the lowly Cards.

Keys to Arizona Cardinals Win:

On the flip side, the Cards must first keep their fingers crossed that Kevin Kolb is healthy enough to play. If/when that doesn’t work out, the offensive line needs to provide some semblance of a pocket for John Skelton to keep him somewhat upright against a feisty Rams pass rush.

A healthy dose of a less-than-healthy Beanie Wells should help the Redbirds to control clock. Some help from dynamic rookie returner Patrick Peterson on special teams would go a long way toward helping Arizona win the battle for field position.

Prediction: Rams 15, Cardinals 12

“Well, what can you say?” Jackson said Thursday. “It sucks for the other team and great for them. Having one of those deals, you just hope not to be the other team.

“We have our hands full. Once again, we have another tough challenge but just because it’s New Orleans this week and we have another team next week, doesn’t mean the task after this is any lighter. Getting a win is getting a win. We’d like to do it sooner than later.”

After the Rams went 7-9 last year, the enthusiasm was high for St. Louis this season. But the Rams have lost every game this season. Only one game was close, a 17-10 loss to Washington. Otherwise, the Rams have been blown out.

“At the end of the day, we’re all blessed to play football,” Jackson said. “Ideally, it’s not what you want in the wins and losses. I’d rather not be doing anything else.”

Getting that first win against the Saints won’t be easy. New Orleans is 27-17 on the road since 2006. The Saints won on their last visit in 2009 to St. Louis.

The Saints’ defense ranks 14th in the NFL, 17th in points allowed and 15th in rushing defense.

“New Orleans brings pressure,” Jackson said. “That’s what they do. In the running game, they have a very, very solid defensive line to make it a tough day for runners. We have to execute. That’s the biggest thing we need to do.”

The Rams haven’t executed much well this season.

“The thing about this league and I’m pretty sure about a lot of different professional leagues, you have to have a short memory,” Jackson said. “If things are going good or going bad, you have to really prepare for your next opponent. They’re not going to take it lightly on you because you’re short and have injuries. Every team is looking to win that one trophy.”

With New Orleans’ potent offense, the Rams want to keep the Saints’ defense on the field as much as possible. The running game will be a key to ball control for the Rams.

“We just got to find a way to start faster, start quicker and get some points on the board,” said Josh McDaniels, the Rams’ offensive coordinator. “We’ve got to put ourselves in a situation where our team has the lead. That’s really where our focus is going to be. We want to start both halves with positive possessions.”

In a 34-7 loss last week at Dallas, Jackson had two big carries — a 40-yard burst followed by a 6-yard scoring run for the Rams’ first rushing touchdown since his first carry of the year. However, he gained only 24 yards on his other 16 attempts against the Cowboys.

Dallas used numerous “run blitzes” to contain the Rams’ running game, Jackson said.

“You know, Dallas didn’t show that on film,” Jackson said. “That was something they did just against our game plan. That’s what they wanted to do against us. New Orleans, they blitz more so to put pressure on the quarterback. When you try to get the ball out of your hand due to a blitz, it can cause turnovers and that’s what they thrive on.

“They want you uncomfortable in your rhythm as an offense and force the quarterback to make mistakes.”

McDaniels agreed.

“This defense is a good defense. It’s an aggressive style,” McDaniels said. “They play each opponent a little differently. One thing you know is they’re going to blitz you. We’ll have to do a great job of handling pressure. You won’t beat them and you won’t score a lot of points on offense if you don’t handle blitz. Our guys have been focused on that.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Dallas Cowboys are only allowing 307 yards per game (5th in the NFL).  They allow 69.6 yards per game rushing (1st in the NFL), giving up a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. 

What I’m trying to say is, the Cowboys are hard to run on.

The St. Louis Rams average 97.6 rushing yards per game (23rd in the NFL), mustering an average of 4.4 yards per carry.  Of course, Steven Jackson missed most of the first three games, so that average would be a lot higher with Jackson healthy and running hard.  On the season, Jackson is averaging a robust 5.4 yards per carry.

Sunday in Dallas, something has to give.

I don’t think Jackson is going to go crazy and run the ball 25 times for 160 yards like he did against the Cowboys back in 2008 when the Rams upset Dallas.  It’s possible, but I don’t think that kind of lightning is going to strike twice.

I think Jackson will hurt the Cowboys catching the football.

Jackson had 90 catches in a season as a younger player.  He has great hands, but hasn’t been properly used as a receiver in years.  Last weekend, you saw Jackson make an amazing catch down the sideline.  If the Rams are smart, they will use Jackson as a receiver, and this will keep the Cowboys’ blitzing linebackers in check. 

If Jackson has a couple of big gains on a screen pass, a little flare out of the backfield, and then averages around four yards per carry on 21 carries…

Add it all up, and I think Jackson is going to have over 150 total yards and at least one touchdown. 

That was the word Thursday from Rams running back Steven Jackson, who pointed to offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s offseason departure as a setback for a young offense.

“I’m not making any excuses, but we’re all still learning,” Jackson told reporters. “It would be different if we were still in the West Coast offense and you still had Pat calling the plays. I think you could be a little bit harsher on the performance of the offense, but when you have a bunch of young guys, you have some free agents and really only six weeks to try to jell this thing together, it’s hard.”

Other teams with young offenses and new coordinators are faring better. The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks come to mind. Those teams also have strong defenses, however. The Rams were supposed to have one, but they’ve struggled keeping games close, putting the offense in worse situations. It’s become a cycle.

Seattle and San Francisco failed to generate much offense in the first few games. Each team averaged about 214 yards per game through Week 3. The 49ers have averaged 430 yards per game since then. The Seahawks’ average has been 398 yards over the same period. The Rams’ totals have fallen over their last three games, as the chart above shows.

“We’re not asking for any pity parties, but what you’re seeing is some guys resorting back to things they’ve used in the past that’s just not matching up with the scheme,” Jackson said.

Injuries to Jackson and top receiver Danny Amendola have also hurt. Jackson said he’s now 100 percent, but Amendola, the one receiver the Rams could count on, is out for the season.

Jackson’s comments about the Rams’ youth invite scrutiny.

With the Rams 0-4 and the 49ers 4-1, I’ve put together a chart comparing ages for each team’s starters on offense. The Rams’ offensive starters are only slightly younger on average, and the gap would nearly disappear if Chilo Rachal, 25, were still starting for the 49ers at right guard, where Adam Snyder, 29, has taken over recently.

The 49ers, like the Rams, have had issues at receiver, losing Braylon Edwards, who has yet to return, and more recently Josh Morgan, who landed on injured reserve. Running back Frank Gore also suffered an ankle injury that limited him for one game.

Even though the 49ers’ offensive line struggled early in the season, quarterback Alex Smith has outproduced the Rams’ Sam Bradford. Smith gets some credit for that, obviously, but so do the 49ers, who have put him in better position, whether by scheme, a resurgent ground game or through strong defense and special teams.

.

By Dan Moore

– Managing Editor

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Oct 8, 2011 – Just about everyone on the St. Louis Rams could use a week off after starting off 0-4, both mentally (Greg Salas and Lance Kendricks are probably not enjoying their rookie seasons as much as they’d like) and physically (Sam Bradford has been sacked 18 times in four games, which leads the NFL and is more than half of his 2010 total.) But nobody could use it as much as Steven Jackson, who came back early from his Week 1 quad injury and hasn’t looked quite right in his two games back. 

The thing about Jackson is that the only way to get him to voluntarily not sacrifice his body to even more carries is to just not schedule a game that week, and even then it’s an open question as to whether he’ll actually believe you. But Jackson needs the time off—in his first full game since returning to the offense he made 17 carries for just 45 yards and was, along with the rest of the offense, unable to make any headway against the Washington Redskins. 

With the wide receivers catatonic, a healthy Jackson could make a major difference in the passing game as well as on the ground; he’ll have to play the Danny Amendola/Lance Kendricks role if Sam Bradford is to have any stability in the short game that might set up the long. 

Read More: Steven Jackson (RB – STL), Danny Amendola (WR – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Lance Kendricks (TE – STL), Greg Salas (WR – STL), St. Louis Rams

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McDaniels, the former Broncos coach hired as offensive coordinator in the offseason, was supposed to put some zip into the unit. Instead, the Rams have been outscored 113-46.

“I thought we had a great plan. I thought we were going to play our best game,” quarterback Sam Bradford said. “Obviously, it didn’t happen.”

Ryan Torain ran for 135 yards and a 20-yard score, and the Washington defense stepped up to stop a late rally. The Redskins (3-1) got two of their seven sacks from Stephen Bowen and Brian Orakpo to knock the Rams (0-4) out of scoring position.

James Laurinaitis’ interception and 15-yard return of an underthrown pass from Rex Grossman had given St. Louis the ball at the Washington 19 with about five minutes remaining. The Rams ended up punting from the Washington 39.

Steven Jackson scored on a 15-yard reception earlier in the fourth quarter for the Rams, who trailed 17-0 after three quarters. St. Louis also has a bye next week, plus a long to-do list.

Jackson said there were too many mental mistakes to beat an opponent he judged an equal match.

“As one of the leaders, you’ve got to demand more consistency,” Jackson said “At some point, talk is cheap. At some point, talk gets old. We’re all professionals, and guys need to be held accountable.”

Torain, who missed the first two games with a broken left hand and had no touches in Week 3, also had a 39-yard carry to set up a field goal in the third quarter. It’s his fourth career 100-yard game.

The Rams have allowed 18 sacks on the year. Players were booed off the field at halftime for the second straight week. By the time they showed some signs of life, many fans had already hit the road.

“I definitely understand our fans’ frustrations. There were a lot of high expectations with this team,” Jackson said. “I don’t think the season is written off quite yet, but I’m disappointed, too.”

St. Louis was supposed to contend in the NFC West after a six-win improvement last season to 7-9 but has regressed in Year 3 under coach Steve Spagnuolo, who is 8-28 overall. The Rams have been outscored 41-0 in the first half the last two games and 79-16 in the half overall. They didn’t top 100 yards total offense against the Redskins until the fourth quarter.

“We sound like broken records answering the same questions every Sunday, but that’s on us,” defensive end Chris Long said. “I’d love to answer some questions about what we did right and how we played a great game.”

Justin King’s 50-yard interception return on a ball that went through Santana Moss’ hands put the Rams at the Washington 31 and set up their first score. They settled for a field goal after rookie Lance Kendricks dropped a pass in the end zone.

NOTES: Jackson’s 56th career touchdown broke a tie with Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch for fifth in franchise history. He was held to 45 yards on 17 carries. … Donnie Jones punted eight times for a 45-yard average. … OG Jacob Bell (hamstring) was sidelined in the first half. DT Gary Gibson injured his right hip in the first half, but returned. TE Michael Hoomanawanui took a blow to the head, but the Rams did not have a diagnosis.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Rams are optimistic Steven Jackson will have a larger workload this weekend when they host the Washington Redskins.

Jackson has been hobbled by a strained quadriceps muscle. He was hurt on the Rams’ first play of the season against Philadelphia.

The Rams’ captain scored a touchdown on that 47-yard run but he pulled up as he crossed the goal line. He had one more carry in that game – for nine yards – and didn’t play in the second game against the Giants.

Jackson saw limited time against the Ravens, who left St. Louis with a 37-7 victory that kept the Rams winless. He carried the ball just four times for 23 yards.

Jackson has been limited in practice both Wednesday and Thursday. However, his presence on the practice field shows he is making progress.

“I’ve been able to practice all week, so that’s having things go in the right direction,” Jackson said. “I’ll be out there on Sunday.”

Having Jackson practice is a good thing, Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said.

“You can tell he’s still not full speed, but he is getting there,” Spagnuolo said. “That’s a positive sign. I don’t think he’s 100 percent, but he is getting there. Every day he is getting better and better.”

Quarterback Sam Bradford is encouraged by what he has seen from Jackson in practice.

“He looked great. He looked fast,” Bradford said. “He looked like himself and that’s definitely going to be big for us.”

Spagnuolo said it’s his desire Jackson will be carrying a bigger load against the Redskins (2-1).

Playing in last week’s loss to Baltimore, Jackson showed his determination to do anything to help the Rams. He has played hurt before, including last season, and his will against Baltimore’s fierce defense impressed his coach.

“I want to complement Steve for being a team player,” Spagnuolo said. “Just having him in the huddle, I think, is big for our football team. That was kind of the reasoning and then I just kept my fingers crossed and said some prayers that it wouldn’t go backward.”

Notes: Cadillac Williams (hamstring) had full participation in Thursday’s practice after being limited Wednesday. … WR Danny Amendola (elbow) remains out of practice and is listed as doubtful for Sunday. … Sunday’s game against Washington is a sellout.