St. Louis Rams: 5 Players Who Made Biggest Contributions in Sunday's Loss

The St. Louis Rams (2-10) were nothing short of pathetic against the San Francisco 49ers (10-2) in Sunday's NFC West divisional matchup that resulted in the 49ers clinching the division after an easy 26-0 victory over St. Louis. 

The defense was solid, holding San Francisco to only nine points in the first half. As usual, however, the defense ran out of energy in the second-half and allowed 17 points. 

The offense was led by backup quarterback A.J. Feeley while Sam Bradford was held out with an ankle injury. But backup or not, the offensive performance was inexcusable. 

The offense was only 3-of-13 on third downs (23 percent) and obtained only 157 yards throughout the game while being completely shutout for the first time this season.

With such a collectively unenthusiastic performance by the team, it's hard to single out a handful of players when in reality the overall effort was brutal.

But nonetheless, here are the five biggest "difference-makers" from the game.

Chris Long (Positive Contribution)

Chris Long recorded two sacks on the afternoon to bring his total to a career-high 12 sacks. 

Long is enjoying his first double-digit sack season, which has put to rest any chatter of him not living up to his status as a No. 2 overall draft pick. 

Long now has six consecutive games with a sack and is one of the few consistent players on the Rams' roster. In fact, his stellar season could ultimately result in his first Pro Bowl appearance if he receives just a little love from the fans.  

A.J. Feeley (Negative Contribution)

It's hard to put too much blame on A.J. Feeley given the awful line he was forced to play behind, but overall he was erratic and played scared. 

He was missing receivers by a mile and he coughed up two turnovers, including a fumble and an interception. 

Feeley finished the afternoon 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) with only 156 yards and no touchdowns.

As bad as the offense has been even with Sam Bradford in the lineup, it's fair to point out that Bradford hasn't been shutout in a game yet like Feeley was on Sunday.  

There's no doubt that the Rams were missing their quarterback.

Adam Goldberg and the O-Line (Negative Contribution)

Feeley deserves some blame, but not nearly as much as the entire Rams offensive line, particularly backup Adam Goldberg, who was forced to play left tackle due to injuries on the line. 

The line was overwhelmed in the run game, which is evident by Steven Jackson finishing the game with only 19 yards on 10 carries. 

As far as pass protection is concerned, Goldberg was completely helpless against rookie defensive end Aldon Smith, who finished the game with two sacks. 

Sam Bradford should consider himself lucky that he was injured and did not have to subject himself to the extremely poor protection created by the line. 

Quintin Mikell (Negative Contribution)

Safety Darian Stewart was held out of Sunday's game with a concussion, and it's clear safety Quintin Mikell was not the same without his better half playing alongside him. 

Mikell missed open-field tackles and looked particularly bad when he completely blew an opportunity to recover a fumble. The ball was loose and he shot towards it, but he whiffed. 

It was a poor game for Mikell, who has otherwise been a solid player for the Rams in 2011. 

Justin King (Negative Contribution)

Justin King has improved drastically ever since his infamous game against the Baltimore Ravens that resulted in him giving up three touchdowns to rookie receiver Torrey Smith in a single quarter. 

However, it's still clear the third-year corner is lightyears away from becoming a quality starter in the NFL. 

The Rams were only trailing 9-0 after the first half, but King gave up the first touchdown of the game in the third quarter after he let receiver Michael Crabtree slip by for a 52-yard score. 

After the touchdown, the 49ers took a 16-0 lead, and that's when it became evident the game was out of reach for the Rams and their extremely unproductive offense.