St. Louis Rams vs. Denver Broncos: Steven Jackson Holds the Rams' Key to Victory

The St. Louis Rams' season is spiraling out of control—fast. The only thing that may be sinking faster is the head coaching career of the Denver Broncos' Josh McDaniels.

Roger Goodell is clearly feeling the holiday spirit, seeing as how the NFL fined McDaniels and the Broncos $50,000 each on Saturday. The team's video operations director broke league rules by filming a San Francisco practice in London last month.

There's a lot riding on this game. The Broncos' playoff hopes are somewhere roaming the streets of London, but the Rams are still very much alive in the NFC West. Sam Bradford and Co. have lost four of six heading into Week 11. In what other division could a team go on a bender like that and still be only one game back of the division lead?

If the Rams want to make the playoffs, a win here would be a good start. I've been traveling a bunch this week, but I had enough time to lay out two keys to victory for the Rams.

On a side note, I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone a very happy holiday season.

Get Steven Jackson Going Early

Steven Jackson hasn't had his best season in a Rams uniform. Some think he's underachieving and some think he's being mishandled by the coaching staff.

I'm convinced it's the latter.

Enough passing the ball, Pat Shurmur. The offense needs balance.

Pro Bowl running backs need touches to get involved in the game. Jackson isn't being paid to stand around and watch Sam Bradford air it out 40 times a game.

Getting Jackson involved early in the game should free up space in the middle of the field for the offensive coordinator's prize possession—which is good for everybody.

Here's a look at some of SJax's numbers:

1st quarter: 50 attempts for 239 yards- 4.8 yards per carry

2nd quarter: 56 attempts for 226 yards- 4.0 ypc

3rd quarter: 43 attempts for 168 yards- 3.9 ypc

4th quarter: 53 attempts for 176 yards- 3.3 ypc

The numbers don't lie, my friends. His best numbers come in the first half of games.

Oh, and before I forget:

Jackson indoors: 61 attempts for 266 yards- 4.4 ypc

Jackson outdoors: 142 attempts for 545 yards- 3.8 ypc

Denver's run defense is ranked 31st in the NFL, and they've given up a league-high 15 rushing touchdowns to the opposition. The stars have aligned for Steve Jackson to have a dominating game.

Contain Kyle Orton

Contain, contain, contain!

Keep Kyle Orton in the pocket at all times! The Rams have been getting killed lately by quarterbacks who can break the pocket to extend a play. With a banged-up secondary in tow, this cannot happen any longer.

The Rams are 2-4 over the last six games, with wins over San Diego and Carolina, and losses to Detroit, Tampa, San Francisco and Atlanta.

Even though the Rams beat the Chargers, I'm going to lump that game in with the losses. MVP candidate Phil Rivers played without Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates (left in the first quarter), and Malcom Floyd (left in the fourth quarter).

Point being: The Rams cannot handle quarterbacks who break contain consistently.

Philip Rivers, Josh Freeman, Troy Smith and Matt Ryan have dominated the Rams' secondary because they have extra time to find the open receiver.

Troy Smith's box vs. the Rams: 17-for-28 passing for 356 yards and one TD, with 12.7 yards per attempt.

The next stat will make you sick: eight of his 17 completions went for 20 yards or more. Those eight accounted for 301 of his 356 passing yards.

That's terrible.

The Rams simply cannot defend against a mobile quarterback with guys dropping like flies in the secondary.

Up Next: at Arizona

Questions? Comments? Want to discuss anything? Let's do so below! Enjoy your weekend folks.