Rams Squander Big Opportunity

Grant Wistrom stewed in the locker room, with an ice pack on his elbow and a disgusted look on his face.

With the top seed in the NFC up for grabs, the St. Louis Rams could not beat a team with only pride on the line.

Joey Harrington threw three touchdown passes and Marc Bulger was knocked out of the game in Detroit’s 30-20 upset of the Rams on Sunday.

The Lions scored 20 straight points in the first 15:31 of the second half to take a 30-20 lead, which they were easily able to maintain against the suddenly shaky Rams, who had won seven in a row.

“We came out flat,” Wistrom said. “It was evident when we warmed up and on the first snap. Football is an emotional game, and they obviously wanted it more than we did.”

St. Louis (12-4) squandered a chance to be at home throughout the NFC playoffs, something it had en route to the 2001 and 1999 NFC championships.

The Philadelphia Eagles have that edge and can thank the lowly Lions (5-11) for winning a game they were expected to lose by double digits.

“This team was not prepared and ultimately, that comes back on me,” St. Louis Coach Mike Martz said. “I just felt like we weren’t as excited about playing as we normally are, and that’s my responsibility.”

Bulger was replaced by Kurt Warner early in the fourth quarter because Martz said he was concerned about the hits Bulger was taking.

The Rams said Bulger left the game because of a bruised forearm after he was sacked on a helmet-to-helmet hit by Otis Smith.

“I don’t need a reason, nor do I complain,” said Bulger, who was 18 for 31 for 170 yards with one touchdown, one interception and two fumbles.

Warner had not played since he sustained a concussion in a loss to the New York Giants in Week 1. The two-time most valuable player had two possessions to mount a comeback, but he could not move the Rams downfield.

“I was a little bit off,” said Warner, who was four for 11 for 23 yards.

The Rams’ Marshall Faulk was held to 35 yards rushing and a touchdown, and 40 yards receiving.

Harrington, Detroit’s second-year quarterback, was 26 for 36 for 238 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Under new Coach Steve Mariucci, the Lions matched their win total from the previous two seasons and had a 5-3 record at home.

The Lions, who had 230 yards passing and 112 rushing, had not scored more than 23 points since beating Arizona, 42-24, in the opener.

“That’s a team that shouldn’t be able to move the ball on us,” Wistrom said. “And they stuffed it down our throats the entire game.”