St. Louis Rams: 10 Players Who Made the Biggest Contributions in Sunday's Loss

For the second time this season, the St. Louis Rams (2-9) played a close game against the Arizona Cardinals (4-7) in a match that came down to the wire, but for the second time this season the Rams came up short. 

The Rams were able to meet the NFL's requirements for a sellout and avoided a television blackout, which is a testament to a strong St. Louis fanbase that has continued to show support for the team despite witnessing only two wins this year.

However, just like the majority of football games that St. Louis fans have witnessed in recent years, the Rams were unable to reward their loyalty after falling short in a close 23-20 loss to Arizona at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. 

The Rams entered halftime with a 10-3 lead after Nick Miller returned a punt for a touchdown and Josh Brown nailed a 35-yard field goal. 

But the Cardinals owned the third quarter with a field goal and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard punt return touchdown by Patrick Peterson, which should sound familiar since Peterson returned a punt for a touchdown against the Rams just three weeks ago, which won the game for the Cardinals in overtime.

The Rams scored their only offensive touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard pass from Sam Bradford to Brandon Lloyd, and they outscored the Cardinals 10-3 in the final quarter, but it was not enough to put the game away. 

It was not the most disappointing loss for the Rams on the season, but with a 2-9 record the fans are fed up with moral victories.

But with that, here are the players who made the biggest contributions for the team this week... 

10. Chris Long (Positive Contribution)

Chris Long has a sack in the game, which brings his season total to a career-high 10 sacks. He has been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise dismal team. 

It's clear that he is officially starting to live up to his status as not only the No. 2 overall pick of the 2008 draft, but also as the son of Hall of Fame defensive lineman Howie Long. 

Although you can't give the Rams defense too much credit for allowing 268 rushing yards on the game, you can certainly look at the pressure Long provided throughout the game and come to the conclusion that he played a huge role in limiting the Cardinals to only 114 passing yards. 

9. Donnie Jones (Negative Contribution)

While Donnie Jones has certainly been a bright spot for the Rams' special teams unit and has been one of the better punters in the NFL over the last few years, he certainly didn't show it against Arizona. 

Jones averaged only 33.4 yards per punt against the Cardinals and landed only one of his seven punts inside the 20-yard line, but that was hardly the issue.

Jones' performance was automatically spoiled when he punted the ball directly to Patrick Peterson in the third quarter. Peterson took it back 80 yards for a score.

It wouldn't have been so bad had he not done the exact same thing three weeks ago, which directly resulted in the Rams' 19-13 overtime loss in Arizona.

Punter is not a glamorous position—it only takes one big mistake to ruin the whole game for them, and while people might not recognize the positive things a punter does, they certainly will remember the negatives.

It's surely one kick that Jones wants back.   

8. Brady Poppinga (Positive Contribution)

Brady Poppinga was brought to St. Louis from the Green Bay Packers during free agency as a solution to the team's need for a starting outside linebacker. 

While Poppinga has been largely disappointing and has been reduced to merely a rotational player, he certainly made a mark against the Cardinals. 

He was silent for the majority of the game and recorded only one tackle on the afternoon, but when he wrapped up running back Beanie Wells behind the line of scrimmage, stripped the ball and recovered the fumble, he put the Rams back into the game. 

And what was the result of the fumble recovery? 

The Rams offense marched 43 yards on three plays and scored their only offensive touchdown of the game. It tied the game at 20 with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. 

The Rams obviously blew the game in the remaining nine minutes, but Poppinga put them in a position to win it nonetheless. 

7. Sam Bradford (Positive Contribution)

When you consider the circumstances, quarterback Sam Bradford had a solid outing against the Cardinals. 

His patchwork line featured a 30-year-old right guard protecting his blind side at left tackle (Harvey Dahl), and a penalty-prone center who was benched two weeks ago played right guard (Jason Brown). 

His center, Tony Wragge, was not on the roster until the season started, and his right tackle (Adam Goldberg) is a backup. 

The team's only original lineman who was playing at his natural position was left guard Jacob Bell, who is an average blocker at best.  

The line did not protect Bradford, and his numbers also suffered from dropped balls by the receivers. 

But on the few plays where the line allowed just a little bit of time and the receivers actually caught the ball, Bradford made some nice throws. He showed poise in the pocket despite the inevitable pressure and he was able to fit the ball through some tight windows. 

His 16-yard touchdown pass over the shoulders of Brandon Lloyd in the corner of the end zone was a clear reminder of why the Rams spent the No. 1 overall pick on him. It was also a glimpse of what Rams fans are hoping to see out of him in the near future if the front office can repair the offensive personnel.

Bradford went 17-for-31 for 203 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions on the afternoon. It was not an excellent showcasing of his abilities, but he could have done much worse with all things considered.  

6. Nick Miller (Positive Contribution)

The second-year wide receiver Nick Miller was cut by the Oakland Raiders on October 1st, 2011. He was then signed by the Rams for their October 16th game against the Green Bay Packers, but was cut afterwards. 

After spending approximately a month and a half at home, he was called up by the Rams, who were in need of a punt returner for Sunday's contest against the Cardinals. 

So he traveled to Glendale, Arizona with the team and fielded his first punt in a Rams uniform in the first quarter and took it back 88 yards for a touchdown. 

With so little offensive production from the team, the Rams are more than thrilled to get a touchdown on special teams.

Needless to say, Miller will likely be returning the rest of the punts for the Rams this season, barring any injury or significant drop in production.  

5. Jason Brown (Negative Contribution)

Jason Brown was benched after a questionable performance at Arizona three weeks ago, but had a shot at redemption on Sunday when the Cardinals traveled to St. Louis for a rematch. 

Not only was Brown unimpressive during his triumphant return to the starting lineup, but he significantly hurt the team with three penalties. 

He had two false-start penalties, but the worst was his holding penalty he committed following a James Laurinaitis interception that put the Rams offense in Arizona territory. The 10-yard penalty forced Josh Brown to attempt a lengthy 50-yard field goal, which he missed.

The missed field goal was the difference in the Rams' 23-20 loss to the Cardinals.

It should be noted that he was playing right guard rather than center, which is his usual position. But regardless, the $37.5 million free agent continues to be a colossal disappointment. 

4. Steven Jackson (Neutral Contribution)

Steven Jackson had an adequate game, but his performance was less than what he's capable of overall as an elite running back in the NFL. 

He had 17 carries for 64 yards (3.76 yards per carry) and three receptions for 14 yards, but he failed to find the end zone.

The hopeless Rams offense was only 3-for-13 on third downs in the game (23 percent), but Jackson was able to gain two of those three first downs. But regardless, two first downs in a single game for any running back warrants at least some scrutiny. 

However, like Bradford, Jackson's performance suffered due to a poor offensive line that was unable to consistently block for him. It hindered his ability to have any real effect towards the outcome of the game.

But overall, he did not make any plays that hurt the team, and the team would've been worse off without him on the field.  

3. Josh Brown (Negative Contribution)

Josh Brown made two field goals from 35 and 48 yards. Since the Rams scored only 20 points against the Cardinals, Brown's kicks made up 30 percent of the offense's point production. 

So how did he have a negative impact? Well, he missed the 50-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which was the difference in the Rams' 23-20 loss. 

Now, a 50-yard kick is not exactly a chip shot, so it's hard to place a whole lot of blame on him.

However, in a dome with no wind and with an offense that so rarely scores points, missing that field goal was not an option, regardless of the distance. 

2. James Laurinaitis (Positive Contribution)

Since running back Beanie Wells scorched the Rams for 228 rushing yards, a franchise record for the Cardinals, it is hard to believe that any of the linebackers would get any credit for their overall performance in the game. 

However, 124 of his yards came on two carries—a 71-yard run off the tackle and a 53-yard run around the left guard away from James Laurinaitis' gap. 

Neither of the runs came as the result of Laurinaitis' play. 

He did, however, intercept quarterback John Skelton at the beginning of the fourth quarter when the Rams were down 20-13, which put the Rams in a position to take back the game. 

After the interception, the Rams offense took over at the Arizona 37-yard line. A Jason Brown penalty sent it back to the the 47. The offense was only able to manage three yards on the next three plays and missed the 50-yard field-goal attempt. 

The offense blew their chance, but Laurinaitis created the opportunity for them regardless. 

1. Brandon Lloyd (Positive Contribution)

The Rams acquired Brandon Lloyd near the trade deadline prior to their Week 7 game against the Dallas Cowboys. 

The Rams were 0-5 in their first five games without Lloyd on the roster, but they are now 2-5 since making the trade. That record is not overly impressive itself, but there's a good chance the Rams would not have secured those two wins without the services offered by Lloyd. 

Lloyd caught five passes against the Cardinals for 74 yards and a touchdown. It was his third consecutive game with a touchdown, and the third consecutive time he has scored the Rams' only offensive touchdown of the game. 

Without Lloyd, what little offensive production the Rams have (12.7 points per game) would not exist.