Rams still control their playoff fate despite loss

ST. LOUIS -- Belonging to the downtrodden NFC West has its benefits. The St. Louis Rams laid an egg at home on Sunday, yet remain tied for first place and hold the tiebreaker over the Seahawks.

Another chance to get it done, a do over, a mulligan. Beat San Francisco this week at home and Seattle on the road in the finale, and they're 8-8 division champions who can open the playoffs at home.

There's even a slim chance the Rams could make it to the postseason at 7-9, if they lose to the 49ers (5-9) and win at Seattle (6-8) and the 49ers lose at Arizona.

"I'm not frustrated at all," cornerback Ron Bartell said. "We can play better, we all know that. The playoffs really start for us right now."

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo doesn't want to hear about any of the 16 possible scenarios, adding Monday that "if they come, I'll throw them in the waste basket." He knows it's all about how the Rams (6-8) perform.

If they make it to the postseason for the first time since 2004, Spagnuolo won't waste any time worrying if the team really deserved it.

"I don't look at being fortunate in a division," Spagnuolo said. "I just know that until they tell us we cannot make it to the playoffs, that's what we're still shooting for."

Even if it's an unsightly 7-9. Remember that this is the team that was 1-15 last season, ranked at or near the bottom in most major categories, and a dismal 6-42 from 2007 to 2009.

Just being in the picture is a major step forward.

"If we happen to get in there, it won't matter what the record is," Spagnuolo said.

St. Louis has lost its last two, hardly peaking for a playoff run, to good teams in the Saints and Chiefs. An early rash of penalties kept the Rams from grabbing a big lead against Kansas City on Sunday. They got two field goals out of three promising drives to start the game.

Some players were unhappy that Spagnuolo mentioned playoffs for the first time all season in his postgame news conference. Running back Steven Jackson said the team already should have felt that way.

"I probably would retract that," Spagnuolo said. "A better way is to say this is a must-win situation."

The Rams had the ball in Chiefs territory on their first three possessions but only grabbed a 6-0 lead.

The offense then stalled in the second and third quarters, totaling one first down, before going to a no-huddle offense that produced Jackson's 5-yard scoring run to cut the gap to a touchdown with 4:04 to go.

The 49ers beat the Rams 23-20 in overtime five weeks ago in San Francisco.

"We're in the moving forward stage now," Spagnuolo said. "This a resilient team in my particular opinion. These guys find a way when they're challenged to do some good things."