ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams fans hoping for a quarterback change got their wish Sunday when Marc Bulger suffered a right shoulder injury in the first half and backup Kyle Boller got behind the steering wheel.
Boller provided an immediate spark, leading the Rams to 17 points in a four-possession span, but he still couldn't stop the team from falling to 0-3 following a 36-17 loss to Green Bay.
It was the Rams' NFL-worst 13th straight loss and dropped the team to 5-30 since the beginning of the 2007 season.
Boller threw a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Daniel Fells and finished the day 16-of-31 for 164 yards, also running for 31 yards.
The former Baltimore Ravens quarterback talked about entering the game with no warning.
"That's not the easiest part, but that's why this is such a tough job," he said. "You've got to prepare during the week and know all the plays like you're the starter."
That was tough to do since Boller was playing the role of the opposing quarterback with the scout team this week.
"I didn't take any reps this week at all with the offense," Boller said. "I do all of our scout team stuff, so I was basically Aaron Rodgers this week."
Bulger was hurt initially with 3:58 remaining in the first quarter on a hard hit by Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman that jarred the ball loose. Green Bay defensive lineman Johnny Jolly made a diving catch to make the recovery at the St. Louis 15.
On the Rams' next possession, Bulger was hit while trying to recover a fumble by Rams running back Stephen Jackson.
"I knew something was wrong and I tried to go back in to work it out," said Bulger, who will have an MRI exam today to determine the extent of the injury. "Unfortunately, I think the next play is when it happened and I got hit again on the same spot. At that point it was going to be counterproductive to stay in.
"I reaggravated it. If I could have stayed out there, I would have."
Boller entered the game with the Rams already down 9-0. A 1-yard touchdown run by John Kuhn pushed the deficit to 16-0 before Boller and his teammates laid down some positive tracks on offense.
Showing plenty of mobility and energy, Boller tried to fire up the team by throwing a block for Jackson and scrambling for big gains when the pass coverage was tight. The line was opening up holes for Jackson, who was carrying defenders with him.
"We were clicking," said Boller, 8-for-13 for 100 yards and two TDs in the second quarter. "We were able to run the ball and hit some pass plays, everything just seemed to go our way."
For a while.
Boller hooked up twice with Fells on touchdown passes, the second of which was a perfect throw with Fells getting an edge on former Rams linebacker Brandon Chillar.
"Fells stepped up big and those are the guys you like, guys that are going to make plays," Boller said. "I had all the trust in the world in him that he'd go out there and make a play and he did that.
"The offensive line gave me good protection. I was able to use my feet today and sometimes that puts a lot of pressure on a defense."
The Rams got as close as 23-17 with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter, but the Packer defense shut the door on Boller's passing attack.
"I thought it went pretty well, there's a lot of things I can work on though," Boller said. "We've got to finish drives and that's the ultimate thing."
It was a big day for Jackson, who ran the ball 27 times for 117 yards and added five pass receptions for 46 yards. That's 32 touches, a figure the Rams need to hit every week.
Especially when they have few other game-breakers in their offense.
"I just know Stephen played well, Kyle came in and did a great job," Bulger said. "Our line got going and we got some juice going, we got the offense moving in the two-minute drill.
"I was proud of those guys the way they played; especially Kyle, the way he came in and played without practicing all week."
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