First Quarter

Scoring: St. Louis 3, New England 0: Jeff Wilkins, 50-yard field goal at 3:15.

Impact player: Ty Law led the Patriots with three tackles. The Rams had the ball for almost 10 minutes in the quarter, but were kept out of the end zone because the Patriot defense was outstanding. They showed the Rams different looks on almost every play, and when Ram receivers made a catch, they were hit hard by several Patriot defenders. Ten Patriots made tackles in the first quarter, and Ram quarterback Kurt Warner was sacked once.

Missed opportunity: It was a quarter of missed opportunities for the Rams. Warner was eight of 11 for 72 yards and the Rams had five first downs, but put only three points on the scoreboard. So much for that fast start everyone was expecting. The Rams gunned their motor, but were stuck in the mud.

Did you notice? Wanted: Marshall Faulk, last seen playing for the Rams--5 feet 10, 211. Best running back in the game. He hardly touched the ball in the first quarter. When the Rams beat the Eagles in the NFC championship game, they did it by establishing their running game. They kept giving Faulk the ball, and it opened passing lanes for Warner. Coach Mike Martz seemed to forget that. Faulk carried six times for 22 yards in the quarter, but three of those carries came in the final two minutes.

Best number: Patriot punter Ken Walter forced the Rams to start their drives deep in their territory by averaging 52.5 yards on his two punts. Punters are often overlooked, but Walter was one key to the Rams scoring only three points.

Worst number: How many of those annoying “mlife” commercials are they going to run? In the first quarter alone, I counted 1,312 of them. Please make them stop.

Houston Mitchell