Maybe it was the watching the St. Louis Cardinals secure the World Series victory this weekend, maybe it was a jump start from the team rallying around their backup quarterback, but the St. Louis Rams have finally secured their first win of the season, reaching 1-6 by defeating the New Orleans Saints 31-21.
With starting QB Sam Bradford out, the Rams leaned heavily on Oregon State graduate RB Stephen Jackson, who had 25 rushes for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jackson has 449 yards rushing this season, with 4 TDs.
Backup QB A.J. Feeley was solid in relief of Bradford, going 20 of 37 for 175 yards with 1 TD, but Jackson carried the bulk of the workload. Perhaps having Bradford on the sideline encouraged head coach Steve Spagnoulo to go back to the running game, giving Jackson a season high for carries.
Considering Jackson’s 5.3 yard per carry average this season, leaning more heavily on the running game might be a better recipe for the Rams to follow. Jackson’s only game this season with over 20 carries is also their only victory.
The Saints fall to 5-3, although they remain in first place in the NFC South. The Saints were 13 and a half point favorites, coming off their 62-7 devastation of the Indianapolis Colts, making this the biggest upset in the NFL this season.
Jackson is one of 19 players from Oregon State, aka Beaver Nation, in the NFL (quick trivia question – how many of the others can you name?). He was the 24th pick overall in 2004 and since then has been the MVP of the Rams 3 times and made 3 Pro Bowls.
At OSU he ranks second in 4,545 all-purpose yards, while he ranks third on the school’s all-time scoring list with 276 points. He was also the highest paid running back at the time, when he signed his six-year contract in 2008 worth $49.3 million, including $21 million in guarantees ($11.4 million signing bonus).
On October 24, 2010, Jackson passed Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson as the Rams all-time leading rusher with a 110-yard effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In November 2010, he recorded his 10,000th career yard from scrimmage.
Neglecting Jackson in the Rams offense is not a recipe for success, as they demonstrated in their first six game.
Answer to the trivia question… below are the Oregon State graduates currently playing the NFL:
| Derek Anderson | Carolina Panthers | Quarterback |
| Nick Barnett | Buffalo Bills | Linebacker |
| Brandon Browner | Seattle Seahawks | Cornerback |
| Victor Butler | Dallas Cowboys | Linebacker |
| Kyle DeVan | Philadelphia Eagles | Guard |
| James Dockery | Cleveland Browns | Cornerback |
| Dwan Edwards | Buffalo Bills | Defensive End |
| Brandon Hughes | Philadelphia Eagles | Cornerback |
| Steven Jackson | St. Louis Rams | Running Back |
| Adam Koets | New York Giants | Offensive Tackle |
| Andy Levitre | Buffalo Bills | Guard |
| Keenan Lewis | Pittsburgh Steelers | Cornerback |
| Gabe Miller | Kansas City Chiefs | Defensive End |
| Matt Moore | Miami Dolphins | Quarterback |
| Chad Ochocinco | New England Patriots | Wide Receiver |
| Stephen Paea | Chicago Bears | Defensive Tackle |
| Sabby Piscitelli | Kansas City Chiefs | Safety |
| Jacquizz Rodgers | Atlanta Falcons | Running Back |
| Sammie Stroughter | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Wide Receiver |
