Even though they outgained the Miami Dolphins last Sunday, 462 to 192 in yardage, had 22 first downs to the Dolphins' 12, and owned the time of possession meter by almost seven full minutes, the St. Louis Rams still managed to lose the game at Sun Life Stadium 17-14.
"As is usually the case when you get a chance to go back and look at the game much closer with the staff, there are things that are reflected," Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said. "One, as always is the case, there's good things, and secondly, when you lose a close game - by a field goal - there's little things that contribute.
"But to me, there was also a big thing that contributed to this loss and that was the second quarter. We had a six-point lead going into the second quarter. In the second quarter, we had seven penalties, missed two field goals, and turned the ball inside our opponent's territory on the 25 yard line. So, we were lucky to get away with 10 points in the second quarter. That's definitely the area we're going to look at and get corrected and get fixed."
And because of that rough second quarter, the Rams fell to 3-3 in a game they thoroughly dominated the rest of the way.
Unfortunately, a loss is a loss, so it really is no surprise that when the new NFL.com Power Poll rankings came out late on Tuesday, St. Louis had fallen one spot below 3-3 Miami to No. 21 overall out of 32 teams.
The move marked a three spot dip for the Rams, who were ranked No. 18 in last week's poll. Miami, who was No. 19 last week, actually dropped a spot because of its poor performance, despite actually winning the game.
This week, St. Louis will face one of the highest-rated 3-3 teams in the league, when the Green Bay Packers come to the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday, for a game that could be critical to both teams' playoff chances.
The Packers were considered the favorites in the NFC North coming into the season, but after a mediocre start (coupled with the Chicago Bears' red-hot 4-1 start), Green Bay is in danger of falling out of the divisional race early.
Which would leave them chasing one of two wild-card spots as their only shot of making the playoffs this year.
St. Louis was a team many thought might be headed for another 2-14 year. But the Rams have already topped last season's meager win total, and appear to at least be a contender in the wide open NFC West.
Sunday's game at the Dome will go a long way to determining both teams' fate this season.
The NFL's last remaining unbeaten team, the 6-0 Atlanta Falcons, took over the No. 1 spot in this week's Power Poll, after a thrilling 23-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
The Falcons have been in the top 5 all year, and were ranked No. 2 last week, but took over the top spot on Tuesday, for the first time this season.
The previous No. 1-ranked team, the Houston Texans, fell to No. 4 this week, after suffering a 42-24 loss to the Packers on Sunday Night Football.
The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants reached their highest spot in the poll this week, climbing to No. 2, after their impressive victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Giants actually received two first-place votes this week, but still fell way short of Atlanta, which got the other 11 first-place votes.
The team that fell the furthest in this week's poll was the Indianapolis Colts, who took a humiliating 35-9 beatdown from the New York Jets on Sunday.
The Colts were ranked No. 21 last week, but fell five spots to No. 26 this week.
WEEK 7 NFL.com POWER POLL RANKINGS
Rank Team W-L 1st Votes Last Votes Points 11
1. Atlanta Falcons 6-0 11 - 410 24
2. New York Giants 4-2 2 - 389 31
3. Baltimore Ravens 5-1 - - 385 43
4. Houston Texans 5-1 - - 375 52
5. Chicago Bears 4-1 - - 372 63
6. San Francisco 49ers 4-2 - - 360 72
7. New England Patriots 3-3 - - 325 73
8. Green Bay Packers 3-3 - - 325 96
9. Seattle Seahawks 4-2 - - 318 103
10. Denver Broncos 3-3 - - 297 112
11. Philadelphia Eagles 3-3 - - 262 11
12. Minnesota Vikings 4-2 - - 262 132
13. Arizona Cardinals 4-2 - - 244 146
14. Pittsburgh Steelers 2-3 - - 235 151
15. San Diego Chargers 3-3 - - 233 164
16. Washington Redskins 3-3 - - 221 173
17. Dallas Cowboys 2-3 - - 214 181
18. Cincinnati Bengals 3-3 - - 196 196
19. New York Jets 3-3 - - 180 201
20. Miami Dolphins 3-3 - - 172 213
21. St. Louis Rams 3-3 - - 147 221
22. Detroit Lions 2-3 - - 146 233
23. Buffalo Bills 3-3 - - 141 24
24. New Orleans Saints 1-4 - - 128 253
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-3 - - 122 265
26. Indianapolis Colts 2-3 - - 119 272
27. Tennessee Titans 2-4 - - 79 281
28. Carolina Panthers 1-4 - - 69 291
29. Oakland Raiders 1-4 - 1 48 302
30. Cleveland Browns 1-5 - - 37 31
31. Jacksonville Jaguars 1-4 - 4 30 322
32. Kansas City Chiefs 1-5 - 8 23
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