AFC East Is Bringing Best Out of the Rams

The St. Louis Rams must be thinking it’s too bad they aren’t in the AFC East.

Rookie wide receiver Az-zahir Hakim and former practice squad player June Henley each scored two touchdowns and the Rams overcame three first-half turnovers and the loss of starting quarterback Tony Banks for a 32-18 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Three victories by the Rams (4-10) have come against playoff contenders from the AFC East--New England, Buffalo and the New York Jets.

“Maybe we ought to change divisions,” defensive tackle D’Marco Farr joked. “They’re the heavyweight champions, but they’re going into the title fight with a black eye and a broken rib.”

The Patriots (8-6) wasted a big game from rookie running back Robert Edwards, who gained 196 yards in 24 carries, and hurt their playoff chances by losing for the first time in four games. New England probably needs to win its last two games against San Francisco and the Jets to make the playoffs.

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe missed two series in the first quarter while having a new splint set on his surgically-repaired right index finger. He wasn’t very effective after he returned, finishing 11 for 35 for 176 yards.

Bledsoe threw a touchdown pass to Lovett Purnell, but was sacked five times and knocked down repeatedly under heavy blitzing. Purnell replaced tight end Ben Coates, who missed the game because of the death of his mother. The Patriots also played the second half without wide receiver Terry Glenn, who suffered a broken right ankle.

Banks is out for the season after tearing the medial collateral ligament of his left knee in the first quarter. Backup Steve Bono had an interception and lost a fumble in his first two series but had no turnovers the rest of the game.