Giant-killers
Rams take down another one of league’s best
ST. LOUIS – The last-place St. Louis Rams continue to show opponents that they know how to compete against the league’s best.
Sunday, the Rams added Peyton Manning and the AFC-West leading Broncos (7-3) to the list of favorites beaten by St. Louis.
“It’s not too bad to beat a guy who can put up 40 points in no time,” defensive end Robert Quinn said after the Rams surprised Denver 22-7. “He’s a future Hall of Famer. It took a whole team effort.”
The Rams had already beaten the past two NFC champs – Seattle and San Francisco. And they had blown big leads at home against the Cowboys and the first time they played the 49ers.
This time, they finished the job against the NFL’s No. 2 offense, which hadn’t scored fewer than 21 points and had scored 30 or more five of the previous six.
Shaun Hill was effective in his first start since regaining the quarterback job and the defense made the stops that counted.
Rookie Tre Mason had 29 carries for 113 yards, the most against the Broncos’ top-ranked run defense.
Kenny Britt had four catches for 128 yards with a 63-yard score and Greg Zuerlein was a career-best 5 for 5 on field goals for the Rams (4-6).
Manning was 34 for 54 for 389 yards with two interceptions, but was held to a 42-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders, ending a streak of 15 consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes. He refused to lean on injuries that sidelined Julius Thomas, Montee Ball and Sanders.
“We didn’t execute very well and I just think I didn’t play very well,” Manning said. “No excuses. I have to play better and we have to score more points than seven.”
Denver’s Demaryius Thomas had seven receptions for 103 yards, his seventh consecutive 100-yard game to match the Cowboys’ Michael Irvin (1995) for second-longest single-season streak in NFL history. Calvin Johnson holds the record with eight straight.