(Sports Network) - The St. Louis Rams obtained an unwanted record with this past Sunday's 36-17 home loss to the Green Bay Packers, not to mention a rather disgraceful title as well.

With the Detroit Lions ending their 19-game losing streak with a 19-14 victory over Washington in Week 3, the Rams now become the unquestioned standard- bearers of futility in the NFL. St. Louis has now dropped its last 13 contests dating back to last season, the longest skid in the franchise's 72-year, three-city existence.

One could have argued the Rams had already staked claim to the being the league's worst team. After all, St. Louis has won an NFL-low five games since the start of the 2007 campaign and has been handed defeats in 21 of its 23 most recent outings.

The immediate future doesn't appear too promising for St. Louis either, with three key players -- most notably quarterback Marc Bulger -- enduring potentially serious injuries in Sunday's loss to the Packers.

Bulger hurt his right throwing shoulder after being sacked by Green Bay's Aaron Kampman in the first quarter, then aggravated the injury when he attempted to corral a fumble by teammate Steven Jackson on the Rams' next series. An MRI taken Monday revealed a bruised rotator cuff and no structural damage, but the two-time Pro Bowl participant's status for this week's game at San Francisco still remains up in the air.

The Rams received far worse news on wideout Laurent Robinson, the club's best receiver in the early going. The offseason pickup will likely miss the remainder of the season after fracturing his right fibula in the first half of Sunday's loss. In addition, strong safety James Butler sprained his left knee in the first quarter and will be sidelined a minimum of two weeks.

Kyle Boller took over for Bulger and engineered a pair of second-quarter touchdown drives that helped trim an early 16-0 deficit, but the former Ravens' first-round pick completed just 8-of-18 passes for 64 yards and was intercepted once during the second half.

One bright spot in Sunday's setback was the play of Jackson, who rushed for 117 yards on 27 carries and also led St. Louis in receiving with five catches totaling 46 yards. The standout running back has now eclipsed the century mark in four of his last five games.

QUICK HITS: Reserve tight end Daniel Fells, who entered Sunday's tilt with eight career receptions and no touchdowns, was on the receiving end of both of Boller's second-quarter scoring throws...Boller finished with 164 yards on 16- of-31 passing...Rookie right tackle Jason Smith, the No. 2 overall selection in this past April's draft, sat out the game with a left knee sprain and was replaced in the starting lineup by veteran Adam Goldberg...Defensive end Leonard Little recorded his first two sacks of the season in Sunday's loss...Prior to the game, the Rams retired Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones' No. 75 uniform number.

NEXT UP: The battered Rams head to San Francisco's Candlestick Park this Sunday for a showdown with the first-place 49ers, the only NFC West member with a winning record at the moment. St. Louis lost both meetings with the Niners a year ago, but did record a 13-9 victory in San Francisco in Week 11 of the 2007 season.

SAN FRANCISCO: The 49ers were also hit with a significant injury in their Week 3 matchup, with standout running back Frank Gore spraining his right ankle on his first carry of the team's game at Minnesota. However, the end result of Sunday's clash with the Vikings proved to be far more painful than any physical pain Gore or any of his teammates endured on the afternoon.

San Francisco was on the verge of its first 3-0 start since 1998, holding a four-point lead with 1:29 left to play and the undefeated Vikings needing 80 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. Minnesota wound up getting that improbable score thanks to some magic from Brett Favre, with the legendary quarterback eluding a Niners rush and connecting with wide receiver Greg Lewis on a 32- yard pass with 12 seconds lift that lifted the defending NFC North champs to a 27-24 triumph.

Favre's desperation heave overshadowed another impressive performance by both 49ers signal-caller Shaun Hill and an unheralded San Francisco defense that kept the Vikings grounded for nearly the entire second half. Prior to the game-winning drive, Minnesota managed only 95 total yards over its first five possessions after the break.

Hill threw for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the last being a 20-yard strike to tight end Vernon Davis that gave the Niners a 24-20 edge with 8:12 remaining.

Despite the final outcome, Sunday's showing served further notice that a San Francisco team that's delivered six consecutive losing seasons is indeed turning the corner. Second-year head coach Mike Singletary chalked up the defeat as a learning experience that the club can build upon down the road.

"The team that lost this game, particularly like that, is going to be better for it," Singletary said afterward. "We will be better for it going forward. It stings and it hurts like heck. But going forward this will serve us well. We have to learn how to finish. We have to learn how to play big games." The 49ers may not be playing any games with Gore for at least a few weeks, though. The three-time 1,000-yard rusher is expected to miss the team's next two games before returning for an October 25 test at Houston that will follow a Week 6 bye.

QUICK HITS: Davis also caught a five-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and finished with a career-high 96 yards on seven catches. It was the first multi-score game of the fourth-year pro's career...Rookie Glen Coffee managed just 54 yards on 25 attempts as Gore's primary fill-in against the Vikings... Defensive end Ray McDonald blocked a field-goal attempt that was returned 59 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Nate Clements on the final play before halftime, giving the Niners a 14-13 lead at intermission.

NEXT UP: San Francisco will attempt to extend the Rams' run of misery when the two divisional foes face off at Candlestick Park this coming Sunday. The 49ers have won their last four home games, including a 23-10 decision over Seattle in Week 2, and are 4-1 at the 'Stick since Singletary took over as head coach midway through last season.



SEATTLE: The Seattle Seahawks will be spending this week trying to recover from a tough loss of their own, a 25-19 setback at home to Chicago. The go- ahead points came when Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Devin Hester burned a depleted Seattle defense for a 36-yard touchdown with 1:52 left on the clock.

Although the Seahawks fought valiantly despite playing without a number of injured starters, including quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, this was a loss that to a man was viewed as one that got away. Seattle blew an early 13-0 lead and allowed the Bears to creep back with a pair of third-quarter turnovers, while veteran kicker Olindo Mare misfired on field goal attempts of 34 and 43 yards to draw the ire of head coach Jim Mora.

"Unacceptable," said Mora of Mare's misses. "We are not going to fight our (butts) off and have a field goal kicker miss two kicks. That was a disappointing loss for us. Our margin of error is slim."

Seneca Wallace threw for a career-high 261 yards and a touchdown in place of Hasselbeck, who was inactive due to a fractured rib suffered during last week's loss to San Francisco, and moved the Seahawks inside the Chicago 30- yard line in the game's final moments. However, the last of the athletic understudy's 44 pass attempts missed the mark on a 4th-and-2 with 26 seconds to go, leaving the Seahawks with a second straight defeat.

Seattle also took the field on Sunday minus two of its top defenders in linebackers Lofa Tatupu (hamstring strain) and Leroy Hill (groin), as well as starting cornerback Josh Wilson (high ankle sprain). The banged-up secondary took another hit in the fourth quarter, when seasoned corner Ken Lucas was forced to exit after aggravating a groin problem that had him labeled as questionable on the pregame injury report.

Mora remarked during his Monday press conference that he's not anticipating Hasselbeck taking part in the team's Wednesday practice, and that it's as of now uncertain as to whether the Seahawks' longtime field general will be able to play in this Sunday's matchup at Indianapolis. He was more confident that Tatupu will be back in action this weekend, barring any unforeseen setbacks.

QUICK HITS: Offensive tackles Walter Jones (knee surgery) and Sean Locklear (ankle sprain) were also inactive against the Bears, while left guard Rob Sims left in the second half with a strained oblique. Center Chris Spencer, who had missed the first two weeks with a torn pectoral muscle, did return for Sunday's loss...Second-year man David Hawthorne made his first career start at Tatupu's middle linebacker spot and racked up 16 tackles and an interception of Cutler...Wide receiver Nate Burleson caught nine passes for 109 yards and surpassed the century mark for the first time since a 119-yard effort in the 2007 regular-season finale...Wallace also set career-bests for completions (26) and pass attempts (44) in the game...Mare did make four field goals on the day, including a 46-yarder with 5:12 remaining that gave Seattle a short- lived 19-17 lead.

NEXT UP: The Seahawks make their first visit to Indianapolis since 1997 this Sunday to take on an unbeaten Colts team aiming for a second straight victory over an NFC West opponent. Indianapolis took apart the reigning conference champion Arizona Cardinals in Phoenix this past Sunday, with star quarterback Peyton Manning generating 379 yards and four touchdowns through the air to lead the Colts to a 31-10 rout. Indianapolis has won 12 straight regular- season games dating back to the 2008 ledger.



ARIZONA: The Cardinals made it a clean sweep for the NFC West in Week 3 with their 21-point loss to the Colts in Sunday's primetime showcase game. The defeat was the second at home for the 2008 NFC titlists to begin this season, marking the first time Arizona has dropped back-to-back games at University of Phoenix Stadium in Ken Whisenhunt's three-year tenure as head coach.

In a rare opportunity to showcase themselves in front of a national stage, the Cardinals put forth a performance hardly fitting of a team coming off a Super Bowl appearance. A bewildered defense proved powerless in its attempt to slow down Manning and Indianapolis' high-powered passing attack, with the unit surrendering a whopping 505 total yards and 379 through the air while failing to produce a sack.

"You'd like to think that athletically we could match up with those guys and win our share of battles, and we didn't do that tonight," a frustrated Whisenhunt said afterward.

The offense has its issues to solve as well. Facing a Colts team that was gouged for 239 rushing yards by Miami in its previous game and was without two valued starters, the Cardinals mustered a meager 24 yards on 12 run attempts. That lack of balance made the immobile Kurt Warner a sitting duck for Indianapolis' speedy pass rushers, which sacked the 38-year-old quarterback four times and harassed him into a pair of interceptions.

Arizona committed three turnovers in all, with sophomore running back Tim Hightower fumbling away the football on Indy's seven-yard line early in the second quarter to kill a potentially crippling scoring drive. The Cardinals were leading 3-0 at the time.

The Cardinals will have some additional time to correct their early-season problems, as the team won't be back in action until a home date with Houston on October 11. The bye week hasn't been kind to Arizona in recent years, however. The Cards have lost three straight times in games that have followed the break.

QUICK HITS: Warner finished with 332 yards and a touchdown on 30-of-52 passing. It was the two-time league MVP's 49th career 300-yard game, which ties him with Hall of Famer Warren Moon for fifth place on the NFL's all-time list...Wide receiver Steve Breaston led the Cardinals with 94 yards on seven catches in Sunday's loss...Including the playoffs, Arizona had won 11 of its last 13 games at University of Phoenix Stadium prior to its Week 1 defeat to San Francisco...The Cardinals have surrendered a total of 134 points in their last three regular-season losses to AFC teams.

NEXT UP: Arizona returns to the field in Week 5 for its second lifetime meeting with the Texans. The clubs faced off in Houston during the 2005 season, with the Cardinals suffering a 30-19 loss.





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