The St. Louis Rams ended one long losing streak last week. They hope to snap another this weekend.
The Rams (1-2) will be looking to end a string of futility that dates to 2005 when they host the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The Seahawks (2-1) come to town having won 10 consecutive games against St. Louis, sweeping the season series for the past five years running.
Even though Seattle has managed a total of just nine wins combined the past two seasons, it still has managed to feast on the Rams, who last defeated the Seahawks by a score of 23-12 on Nov. 14, 2004.
St. Louis has reason for optimism, though, after ending a 14-game home losing streak with a 30-16 victory over Donovan McNabb and the Washington Redskins a week ago.
It marked just the second victory in the past 29 games for the Rams, who bolted to a 14-0 victory over the Redskins, fell behind 16-14 and regrouped to score the final 16 points.
More impressively, St. Louis accomplished the victory despite an injury to star running back Steven Jackson, who suffered a groin strain after rushing for 58 yards on 10 carries - including a 42-yard scoring run.
The margin could have been larger had the Rams not had to settle for three field goals by Josh Brown in the fourth quarter.
The biggest question for St. Louis this week is the health of Jackson, who missed practice for a second straight day Thursday and has been listed as day-to-day.
If Jackson can’t go, Kenneth Darby will start in his place. Darby played well in a relief role against the Redskins, rushing for 49 yards and the go-ahead touchdown on 14 carries.
Rookie Sam Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick, earned his first win by throwing for 235 yards on 23-of-37 passing with one touchdown and one interception.
Mark Clayton, who was signed just before the season opener after he was dumped by the Baltimore Ravens, is Bradford’s favorite target. He had five catches for 85 yards last week, giving him 17 receptions on the season.
Seattle rode a huge performance by kicker returner Leon Washington to a 27-20 upset victory over the San Diego Chargers last week.
Washington brought back a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns, including the go-ahead score for 99 yards immediately after the Chargers had erased a 17-point deficit and tied the game at 20-20.
First-year coach Pete Carroll saw his team prevail despite giving up almost twice as many yards and watching San Diego ring up 27 first downs to Seattle’s 13.
Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is having an uneven year with four touchdown passes and five interceptions while averaging just 207 yards passing per game.
The ground game also has struggled to get untracked. Justin Forsett led the way with 63 yards on 17 carries against the Chargers.