Bulger, Holt lead Rams to surprising upset of Saints

NEW ORLEANS – It had been a long time since the St. Louis Rams looked anything like the “greatest show on turf.”

But Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce found the old magic, teaming with Marc Bulger on Sunday to give previously winless St. Louis (1-8) a surprising 37-29 victory over a New Orleans Saints squad that hadn’t lost in a month.

Bulger finished with 302 yards and short touchdown passes to Bruce and Drew Bennett. Running back Steven Jackson, recovering from a back injury, rushed for a short touchdown and even threw a 2-yard halfback pass to Randy McMichael for a score.

It was a demoralizing loss for New Orleans (4-5), which could have climbed into a first-place tie in the NFC South with a win. Instead, they gave up 34 straight points from midway through the first quarter until early in the fourth, falling behind 34-7 to a team that not only had yet to win this season, but hadn’t even led on the road.

The most crushing blows came on third-and-long situations, when Holt routinely found a seem in the defense and Bulger found Holt.

The Rams converted eight of their first 11 third downs through the first three-plus quarters.

Drew Brees finished with 272 yards and two touchdowns for the Saints, but most of it came while New Orleans ran a hurry-up offense in the fourth quarter in a comeback attempt that ended when the Saints failed to recover an onside kick with a half-minute remaining.