WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

St. Louis Rams

Marc Bulger threw for 448 yards and completed 35 passes out of 53 attempts in this loss to the Green Bay Packers. He also threw two touchdown passes. But three turnovers really took the Rams out of the game. Bulger contributed one, throwing an interception on a pass intended for Isaac Bruce.

It was both the best of times and the worst of times for Isaac Bruce who led all receivers this week with his 9 receptions for 170 yards. But he fumbled twice, and both times the fumble was recovered by the Packers who scored touchdowns on the recovery. Shaun McDonald and Kevin Curtis were both used heavily in the Rams' offense and both made 6 receptions.

Any running game was abandoned early on by the Rams. Steven Jackson outran Marshall Faulk with his 8 rushes for 40 yards. Faulk contributed 7 rushes for 7 yards. But Faulk did score a touchdown on an 8 yard reception.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers won this game handily with a successful three pronged attack. It was their sixth win since their loss against the Titans in their last Monday night game. Brett Favre made his 200th consecutive start. Favre led the passing game throwing for 215 yards and leading the Packers on three touchdown scoring drives. He connected with Bubba Franks, Javon Walker, and Donald Driver for those touchdowns.

Najeh Davenport started in place of Ahman Green and had an incredible evening. He rushed for 178 yards on 19 carries for an average of 9 yards per carry. He broke a number of long runs against the Rams' defense, and he scored a touchdown on his last run of the game that went for 40 yards.

Defensively, it was a strong outing for the Packers. Ahmad Carroll made big plays to end the Rams' first drive of both halves. He recovered an Isaac Bruce fumble and returned it for a touchdown during the opening drive of the game. During the first drive of the second half, he intercepted Bulger on a pass intended for Isaac Bruce, that if caught would have gone for a Rams touchdown. And in the last minute of the game Darren Sharper forced another Isaac Bruce fumble that Michael Hawthorne returned for a touchdown.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

St. Louis Rams

QB: Marc Bulger (35-53-448, 2 TD, 1 INT, 1-5 rushing) Bulger was able to pass against the Packers quite well as evidenced by his 35 completions for 448 yards. But his strong fantasy outing, did not translate into a win for the Rams, as three potential scoring drives were ended with turnovers. At the end of the first half, he threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce. And at the beginning of the fourth quarter, he found Marshall Faulk for an 8 yard touchdown pass.

RB: Marshall Faulk (7-7 rushing, 5-14, 1 TD receiving on 7 targets) Faulk was not a real factor in the rushing game, but the Rams got behind early and that aspect of their game was abandoned. Faulk made an 8 yard touchdown reception at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Steven Jackson (8-40 rushing, 2-35 receiving on 3 targets) Jackson was interchanged with Marshall Faulk throughout the game; he was not just utilized in relief of Faulk. In the third quarter, Jackson made a great run but fumbled the ball at the end of it. But the Rams had called a time out before the play began and the play was ruled dead.

WR: Isaac Bruce (9-170, 1 TD receiving on 18 targets, 2 fumbles lost) It was an up and down day for Isaac Bruce. He was the favorite target of Marc Bulger and responded well by making 9 receptions for 170 yards including a 4-yard touchdown catch near the end of the first half. And his 170 yards leads the league this week. But he also contributed two incredibly costly fumbles, both returned for touchdowns that ended potential scoring drives. He fumbled on his first reception and it was recovered and returned for a touchdown by Ahmad Carroll. Bruce fumbled a second time with less than a minute to go in the game and like the first, it was returned for a touchdown.

Torry Holt (5-51 receiving on 9 targets) Holt was targeted in the end zone, but the ball was thrown too high. The Packers focused on taking Holt out of the game, which opened up opportunities for both Shaun McDonald and Kevin Curtis.

Shaun McDonald (6-79 receiving on 10 targets) McDonald made a sharp 16 yard catch over the middle. In the second quarter he made a great sliding catch along the sidelines to gain 20 yards.

Kevin Curtis (6-67 receiving on 8 targets) Curtis along with McDonald was a factor in the game, making a number of receptions in the first half of play. Curtis made a great move after a reception near the end of the first half that gained a first down for the Rams.

TE: Brandon Manumaleuna (1-25 receiving on 1 target) Manumaleuna made a 26 yard reception in the first drive of the second half. He limped off the field after the reception.

Cam Cleeland (1-7 receiving on 1 target) Cleeland saw his first target and reception in the second half in relief of Manumaleuna.

K: Jeff Wilkins (2-2 XP, 1-2 FG, 1 for -5 rushing) Wilkins missed his first field goal attempt of 42 yards. He did make his second attempt of 34 yards. Wilkins appeared to attempt another 42 yard field goal, but the Rams called a trick play and Dane Looker passed the ball to Wilkins who was stopped by the Packers and the ball was turned over on downs.

Pass Defense: The Rams were unable to contain Brett Favre who threw for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was rarely pressured during the game and was not sacked even once.

Rush Defense: The rush defense was pretty much non-existent. They allowed 178 rushing yards to Najeh Davenport. Add an additional 53 yards to the rest of the Packers and that makes for a very poor outing.

Green Bay Packers

QB: Brett Favre (18-27-215, 3 TD) It was an excellent game for Brett Favre who made his 200th consecutive start. Favre led the Packers on a touchdown scoring drive in the second quarter of play, completing 5 out of 7 passes for 55 yards culminating with a 7-yard touchdown strike to Bubba Franks. His next drive he again led them to score a touchdown, completing 3 passes for 51 yards, finishing with a 10 yard touchdown pass to Javon Walker. His third touchdown pass went to Donald Driver.

RB: Najeh Davenport (19-178, 1 TD rushing, 1-8 receiving on 1 target) Davenport started in place of Ahman Green. It was his first career start and a great game for him. He made a number of long runs, and had 5 runs over 15 yards. And 3 of those runs were over 30 yards. He made a 31 yard run that helped to set up Javon Walker's touchdown reception and then a 37 yard run in the third quarter that set up Donald Driver's touchdown reception. He capped it off with a 40 yard touchdown run that was on fourth and 1.

Tony Fisher (6-42 rushing, 1-11 receiving on 1 target) Fisher was used in relief of Davenport and added 42 rushing yards.

William Henderson (2-7 receiving on 2 targets) Henderson provided key blocks on Davenport's long runs.

Antonio Chatman (1-6 rushing) Chatman was not a factor in the game and mostly contributed on special teams.

Ahman Green was ruled out for the game with his rib injury.

WR: Donald Driver (6-85, 1 TD receiving on 9 targets) Driver was hit in double coverage and was unable to hold on to the football on his first target in the first quarter. He made his first reception about halfway through the second quarter. Driver made a great one handed catch in the third quarter for a 15 yard gain. He followed that with a 16 yard touchdown reception.

Javon Walker (2-15 receiving on 4 targets) Walker's first reception was for a 10 yard touchdown.
He made his second reception for 5 yards in the fourth quarter.

Robert Ferguson (4-53 receiving on 6 targets) Ferguson made the first catch of the game for a short 3 yard gain.

TE: Bubba Franks (2-36, 1 TD receiving on 2 targets) Franks made a 7 yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. During the Packer's next drive, Franks made a 29 yard gain on a play action pass over the middle.

Ben Steele (0-0 receiving on 2 targets) Steele was targeted in the end zone, but he jumped too early to be able to make the reception.

K: Ryan Longwell (6-6 XP, 1-1 FG) Longwell made a 37 yard field goal attempt in the third quarter.

Pass Defense: Ahmad Carroll recovered Isaac Bruce's fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown to score the first points of the game. During the next drive, the Packers were able to sack Bulger on 3rd and 6, forcing the Rams to settle for a field goal attempt that was missed by Jeff Wilkins. During the second half, Carroll made another big play, interception Bulger on a pass intended for the Isaac Bruce that would have been a touchdown if not for the reception. And though, Bulger passed for 448 yards the Packers recorded 4 sacks.

Rush Defense: The Packers held the Rams to 47 total rushing yards. But the rushing game was abandoned after they fell behind early in the game.