Rams let Packers pull away late

ST. LOUIS -- Backup quarterback Kyle Boller rallied the St. Louis Rams for a while, but Aaron Rodgers rallied the Green Bay Packers at crunch time.

Rodgers was involved in two fourth-quarter touchdowns -- running 4 yards for one score and throwing a 10-yard pass to fullback John Kuhn for another -- as the Packers used a late surge to dispatch the Rams 36-17 on Sunday.

"I was disappointed in the result, I was not disappointed in the effort," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "I thought right into the end of the third quarter, it was about how we had to play the game."

The Rams (0-3) now have lost 13 straight games going back to last season.

It's the longest losing streak in the NFL after the Detroit Lions beat the Washington Redskins 19-14 on Sunday to snap their 19-game losing streak.

"Stuff that happened last year happened last year," Rams cornerback Ron Bartell said. "I don't care about last year. It's tough being 0-3 regardless of the streak."

Rams starting quarterback Marc Bulger suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter. He'll undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury.

Enter Boller with the Rams trailing 16-0.

Boller led the Rams on two long touchdown drives in the second quarter as they cut the Packers' advantage to 23-14.

"He made some plays happen when there was nothing there, and he kind of rallied the troops when we needed it," Rams running back Steven Jackson said.

Boller energized the Rams by making an aggressive block on a 4-yard run by Jackson during the first touchdown drive.

"I just saw a blue jersey flash in front of me and make the block," Jackson said. "I didn't realize it was him until after he was down. It says a lot about how fiery he is and how he wants to compete. He wants to go the extra mile to try to spring a guy through for a touchdown."

For the game, Boller completed 16 of 31 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He also was intercepted once, giving him a quarterback rating of 75.2.

Both of Boller's touchdown passes went to tight end Daniel Fells, who had five receptions for 35 yards.

Jackson had a season-high 32 touches. He had 27 carries for 117 yards and five catches for 46 yards.

There was a large contingent of Packers fans among the 60,234 fans at the Edward Jones Dome.

They made their presence known by periodically chanting, "Go Pack Go."

"Packer fans travel so incredibly well," Rodgers said. "They were cheering out there. We had a spot out there after (Charles Woodson) picked that ball off, where I broke the huddle and the fans, Green Bay fans, were so loud I kinda had to quiet them down just a little bit."

Rodgers completed 13 of 23 for 269 yards and two touchdowns for the Packers (2-1).

Rodgers got 139 of his passing yards on three plays -- a 53-yard completion to Greg Jennings in the fourth quarter, a 50-yard completion to Jennings in the second quarter and a 46-yard completion to Donald Driver in the second quarter.

"Big plays equal points in this league," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

Bartell was burned on the two long passes to Jennings.

"When they throw the ball down field, you have to cover them, and on those two plays, I didn't cover them," Bartell said. "It cost us 14 points. At the end of the day, I let the team down, I let the defense down."

In something out of a comedy -- a tragic comedy -- the Rams bungled their way through the first 20 minutes of the game.

They committed two turnovers and four penalties, and had a field goal blocked in falling behind 16-0.

After new addition Danny Amendola returned the opening kickoff 42 yards, the Rams moved down the field to get in position for a 48-yard field goal by Josh Brown.

Green Bay's Johnny Jolly blocked the field goal attempt, and Green Bay's Will Blackmon picked up the ball and returned it 18 yards.

The play led to 48-yard field goal by Mason Crosby.

Aaron Kampman later hit Bulger's arm as he was cocking to throw, and Jolly caught the loose ball near the line of scrimmage.

The Packers took over at the St. Louis 15 after the fumble, but they had to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Crosby after defensive end Leonard Little's second sack of the game.

Jackson fumbled after being stood up by a mob of Packers players. Green Bay cornerback Al Harris recovered the ball at the St. Louis 12, leading to 25-yard field goal by Crosby and a 9-0 lead for the Packers.

Boller was off the mark on his first four pass attempts, but then completed eight of his next nine passes.

But, first the Packers increased their lead to 16-0 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Kuhn.

Kuhn's touchdown came at the end of an 80-yard drive that was highlighted by a 46-yard pass from Rodgers to Driver.

Driver had his right arm held by Rams cornerback Bradley Fletcher, but made a one-handed grab with his left hand.

The Packers declined the pass interference penalty.

The Rams got on the scoreboard with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Boller to Fells that capped a 10-play, 78-yard drive.

The Packers went up 23-7 on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Driver with the 1:52 left in the first half.

The Rams answered with a nine-play, 84-yard touchdown drive.

Boller threw 19 yards to Fells, who was being defended by former Rams linebacker Brandon Chillar, to cut the Packers' advantage to 23-14 with two seconds left in the first half.

The Rams closed the gap to 23-17 on a 53-yard field goal by Brown in the third quarter.