This year's installment of the St. Louis Rams won't soon be confused with the "Greatest Show on Turf" teams that ruled the NFC a decade ago, but the Rams are starting to experience the same sort of home-field advantage at the Edward Jones Dome.
St. Louis will go for its fourth consecutive home victory Sunday when they take on a Carolina Panthers team coming off its first win of the season.
The Rams (3-4) opened the season with a home loss to Arizona, extending their home losing streak to 14 games, but they've been impressive at the Edward Jones Dome since then, earning victories against Washington, Seattle and San Diego.
St. Louis hasn't won four in a row at home in the same season since the 2004-05 campaign, but that seems like a distinct possibility against a Carolina team that has struggled on offense.
The Panthers (1-5) did seem to turn a corner in the fourth quarter last Sunday, rallying in the final two minutes for the tying touchdown and John Kasay's game-winning 37-yard field goal to claim a 23-20 home win against San Francisco.
Quarterback Matt Moore, making his first start since Week 2 after being benched for rookie Jimmy Clausen, threw for a season-high 308 yards and two touchdowns against the 49ers, and he might have found a new weapon in rookie David Gettis. The sixth-round pick out of Baylor caught eight passes for 125 yards and snagged the first two touchdown passes of his career.
But just as the Panthers gained a new offensive threat, they might have lost another. Leading rusher DeAngelo Williams hobbled off the field with a sprained foot late in Sunday's win and might not play against the Rams.
After back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Williams is off to a slow start this season. He has rushed for 361 yards on 87 carries and has just one rushing touchdown.
If Williams can't go, it will mean more work for Jonathan Stewart, who also has struggled to find running room this year. After a 1,000-yard campaign a year ago, Stewart has only 148 yards on 50 carries this season.
Rams running back Steven Jackson has suffered no such slump, rushing for 617 yards, though he has only two rushing touchdowns. Jackson rushed for 110 yards in last week's 18-17 loss at Tampa Bay, giving him three consecutive 100-yard games and pushing him past Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson for the franchise record. Jackson has 7,324 career rushing yards, all with the Rams.
Jackson broke the ring finger on his left hand last Sunday, but he played through the injury and hopes to play against the Panthers despite having surgery to secure the broken bone Monday.
Jackson is the key cog in an offense that has been impressive at times but has often struggled in the second half. The Rams were shut out after halftime against the Buccaneers, and rookie quarterback Sam Bradford's passer rating of 86.5 in the first half this season drops off to 54.7 in the second half.
Bradford passed for 126 yards and two touchdowns against Tampa Bay, as receiver Danny Amendola and tight end Michael Hoomanawanui each caught their first touchdown passes of the season.
The Panthers have won the past three meetings and five of the last seven, most recently beating the Rams 27-13 in St. Louis in 2007.