Storybook Becomes Old Story for Rams

Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams had one more surprise left.

With the playoffs two weeks away, they turned into the old Rams and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-31, Sunday.

Warner and Marshall Faulk reached statistical milestones, but the Rams--who had won seven in a row--committed seven turnovers in a sloppy game they hope won’t kill the momentum they built in a remarkable turnaround season from being the losingest team of the 1990s.

“I don’t see how it can help us,” said Ram Coach Dick Vermeil, whose team has a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs by virtue of having the conference’s best record (13-3). “Hopefully, it won’t hurt us.”

Warner joined Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with 40 touchdown passes in a season. But Warner was only 12 for 24 for 141 yards and had two interceptions to go with two touchdown passes before leaving the game midway in the third quarter. He had come in with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of nearly four to one.

Faulk had 106 yards from scrimmage to push his season total to 2,429--71 more than the record Barry Sanders established in 1997.

Meanwhile, the Eagles (5-11) forced seven turnovers for the second consecutive game, returned two interceptions for touchdowns and had five sacks to end a season with two victories in a row for the first time since 1996.

Rookie Donovan McNabb was 15 for 33 for 179 yards and three touchdowns, including a five-yard scoring pass with 10:55 left to Chad Lewis that put the Eagles ahead for good. Lewis had been cut by the Rams this season.