This is how remarkably sad the St. Louis Rams’ offensive season has been to date: People cannot pat Kellen Clemens on the back enough for his 26-for-36, 229-yard performance in the Rams’ 20-13 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it turns out that Sam Bradford’s replacement successfully, according to Football Outsiders’ DYAR measure, performed nearly exactly at replacement-level, the mythical sabermetric construct at which a guy plucked from the bench should be able to perform. That’s how bad Bradford and Feeley have both been, and how crushing this season has been to our hopes: Clemens, performing exactly as a guy off the street should, was enough to warm our shivering hearts.

So thank you, Kellen Clemens—I am not here, like Brett Favre or Mark Sanchez, to bury you. Thank you for being the one Ram all season not named Steven Jackson or Brandon Lloyd to take your position on offense and then do exactly what we were expecting of you, no more and no less. Thank you for coming in as the backup quarterback and behaving approximately like a backup quarterback. In this insane season I needed a little something to believe in. 

ST. LOUIS — This game played out in the same all-too-familiar way: The St. Louis Rams’ defense played well, but wore down in the second half and could no longer hold up an ineffective offense.

Cincinnati running backs Bernard Scott and Cedric Benson each ran for a touchdown in the second half as the Bengals beat the Rams 20-13 Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

“That’s just been the story all year,” Rams right tackle Harvey Dahl said. “The defense has played well, played physical. We just can’t get it all connected on offense.”

The Rams led 6-3 at halftime, but the Bengals scored 17 unanswered points in the second half.

Scott had a 1-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, while Benson had a 4-yard touchdown run with 9:14 left in the fourth quarter.

The Rams lost their fifth straight game. They dropped to 2-12 with two games left in the utterly disappointing 2011 season.

A season worth of frustration came pouring out in the form of penalties in the fourth quarter as the Rams were flagged six times in the final period.

“We knew going into this game that this officiating crew were amongst some of the higher ones at throwing penalties out there,” Rams running back Steven Jackson said. “We just didn’t play smart. We weren’t heady about situations. Where the emotion of a football player comes in (to play), you have to be able to control that. The Cincinnati Bengals did a better job than us when that happened.”

The Rams were called for 10 penalties for 109 yards.

Those penalties included two unnecessary roughness infractions on linebacker Chris Chamberlain and an sportsmanlike conduct penalty on offensive linemen Harvey Dahl.

“I’m proud of them for a good chunk of the game, but there was period there where I was disappointed in some of the undisciplined playing,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said.

After being called for holding, Dahl drew the additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for yelling, “That’s not holding,” when referee Jerome Boger had his microphone turned on.

“That was a mistake,” Dahl said. “I shouldn’t have done that. You can’t make a bad situation worse obviously. I just have to stay composed there and not hurt my team. I didn’t know the microphone was on. My fault.”

Dahl was taken out of the game after the penalty. He received a lecture from Spagnuolo on the sideline before returning to action on the next offensive series.

“My education to Harvey was: ’You don’t talk to the officials,’ ” Spagnuolo said. “He has to be careful of that.”

The Rams got their lone touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Kellen Clemens to Danario Alexander with 1:08 left in the game.

The battle between two teams trending in different directions got off to an interesting start. Cincinnati is fighting for their playoff lives, while St. Louis is just trying build momentum heading into the offseason.

Taking a look at the cellar dwellers on the NFL Power Rankings, many of them have a glaring need for a playmaker or elite talent in at least two positions. When these teams make their selections or trades on April 26th at the NFL Draft, they will be attempting to fill those holes.

Here are four of those teams, and the player they may tab to help turn their fortunes around in 2012 and beyond.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams are in need of a better offensive line, but they won’t be able to resist plucking the best wide receiver prospect in the country, in Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon.

Blackmon is physically similar to Terrell Owens or Andre Johnson, but he does have some character concerns. If all goes well, Sam Bradford will have a true No. 1 receiver. That is something he has yet to benefit from in his short pro career.

St. Louis’ struggles to find weapons beyond Steven Jackson is one of the biggest reasons they are 2-10. Blackmon would give the team a definite weapon in the passing game.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are going to draft Andrew Luck. With Peyton Manning’s career in doubt because of a neck injury, the Colts are fortunate a prospect like Luck is available.

The Colts could roll the dice by trading down, and taking Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III out of Baylor, but Luck and the possibility of having him learn from Manning is too much to pass up.

Washington Redskins

The Skins also need a QB, Rex Grossman has played well, but he is not a long-term solution. They would be wise to take RG3, but Matt Barkley also makes sense for them here.

The direction the league is going with the success of Cam Newton and Tim Tebow would give RG3 an edge. He is a mixture of both styles, a pocket passer with great athleticism.

Griffin makes great decisions, and only uses the speed and agility when necessary. Something tells me, there will be several teams kicking themselves two years from now, if they pass on the Heisman winner.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers certainly don’t need a QB, but they desperately need help on defense, specifically the pass coverage. Morris Claiborne is the best cornerback in college football. The current LSU Tiger has good size at 6’0″ and he has elite ball skills.

He would be a great start in what needs to be a rebuilding of the Panthers defense. The Panthers expect the return of a healthy Jon Beason in the middle; they would hope Claiborne has a similar impact as his former teammate Patrick Peterson is having in Arizona.

It is possible with those additions, and a few others through free agency, the Panthers could contend for a playoff spot in 2012.

Here are the entire NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 15:

1. Green Bay 13-0

2. Baltimore 10-3

3. Pittsburgh 10-3

4. San Francisco 10-3

5. New Orleans 10-3

6. Houston Texans 10-3

7. New England Patriots 10-3

8. Atlanta 9-5

9. Denver 8-5

10. NY Jets 8-5

11. NY Giants 7-6

12. Detroit 8-5

13 .Dallas 7-6

14. Tennessee 7-6

15. Cincinnati 7-6

16. Oakland 7-6

17. Arizona 6-7

18. Chicago 7-6

19. Seattle 6-7

20. Philadelphia 5-8

21. San Diego 6-7

22. Buffalo 5-8

23. Miami 4-9

24. Kansas City 5-8

25. Carolina 4-9

26. Washington 4-9

27. Cleveland 4-9

28. Tampa Bay 4-9

29. Jacksonville 4-10

30. Minnesota 2-11

31. St. Louis 2-11

32. Indianapolis 0-13

One telling sign: For the first time in several weeks, Bradford is back in a walking boot.

“I will say it is becoming more and more frustrating to go out there and play and then after the game feel like I’ve been set back and feel like we’ve gone back,” Bradford said after sitting out practice Wednesday.

“I think if it feels good enough Friday to get out there and test it, I’m sure we will just see where we’re at. But if it doesn’t, I don’t think we’re going to push it and set it back again.”

Coach Steve Spagnuolo seemed pessimistic about Bradford’s chances.

“But we’ll see,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s a tough guy, so he’s trying.”

Kellen Clemens, who was signed last week and will likely start if Bradford can’t go, got in some extra work after Wednesday’s practice. Backup A.J. Feeley remains sidelined with a fractured right thumb and has only limited mobility after missing Monday night’s loss.

“I feel prepared,” Clemens said. “It’s a short week, which doesn’t help, but I’m going to get three practices this week instead of two so I think by Sunday afternoon I should be ready to go.”

Clemens appeared close to playing Monday night after Bradford took a hard hit on a failed flea-flicker during the Rams’ third play, hitting his helmet on the turf. While doctors were checking out Bradford, Clemens was warming up on the sideline.

But Clemens said he was just staying loose on a cold night.

When Bradford returned after missing Games 6 and 7, it was easier to recover. He believes the setback is from general wear and tear rather than a specific instance.

“When I came back the first time I was able to make it through those first three or four games without going backwards,” Bradford said. “It got better each week, it wasn’t sore after the game.”

Bradford said the injury has compromised his mechanics and put more stress on his arm. He was just 12 for 29 for 193 yards with an interception and no touchdowns against the Seahawks.

“It’s not easy to come through and fully torque and get everything I have into it,” Bradford said. “I’m not sure if it reduces arm strength, it just kind of limits your ability to put your entire body into throws at times.”

The Rams lost another player, placing fullback Britt Miller on injured reserve with cartilage damage to his right knee, and re-signed cornerback Nate Ness. Miller has been most valuable on special teams, and had three receptions for 41 yards and five carries for 14 yards.

Miller did not make the trip for the Seattle game.

“It was a long night talking to my family, and that seemed to be the best way to go about this thing,” Miller said. “Steven Jackson always makes you look a little better than you are, so that helps.

“To be out here in kind of a tough season, I really wanted to finish with my teammates.”

Ness rejoined the team eight days after getting waived. He was first signed to the practice squad in October, and first elevated to the roster Nov. 16.

Notes: Neither of the Rams’ defensive ends practiced Wednesday. James Hall has a chest injury and Chris Long has been playing the last few weeks without practicing to protect an ankle sprain. Long is among the league leaders with a career-best 12 sacks. “At least we’ve been able to get him to the games, which is huge,” Spagnuolo said. … S Craig Dahl (right ankle), CB Josh Gordy (abdomen), OT Mark LeVoir (groin), DE Eugene Sims (ankle) and TE Stephen Spach (concussion) also did not practice.

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