The St. Louis Rams’ starting quarterback had less than two weeks to learn Josh McDaniels’s notoriously complex offense, and the result looked remarkably like Pat Shurmur’s 2010 gameplan for Sam Bradford. Kellen Clemens reacted well to the low-risk offense, but the reward was just as low, and the Rams fell 20-13 to the Cincinnati Bengals. Steven Jackson had 143 total yards as the Rams’ offensive weapon of first and last resort in the lost, ending the game just 34 yards short of his seventh straight 1000-yard rushing season.
Danario Alexander caught his second touchdown pass of the season in the fourth quarter, ending the game with three receptions for 52 yards; Jackson, Brandon Lloyd, Austin Pettis, and Lance Kendricks all had at least three receptions from Clemens, whose lob-shot to Alexander was his first passing touchdown in nearly four years.
Sam Bradford is done for the season, so this is what the Rams and their fans have to look forward to. Coming up in Weeks 16 and 17: A tug of war between the Rams’ dignity and their draft position.