Rams 34, Jaguars 20: Sam Bradford threw for three touchdowns and host St. Louis took advantage of three turnovers to keep Jacksonville winless.
Bradford completed 19-of-34 passes for 222 yards. Austin Pettis had four catches and two touchdowns and rookie Zac Stacy ran for 78 yards in his first career start for the Rams (2-3), who won for the first time since Week 1 versus Arizona.
Blain Gabbert, who grew up near St. Louis and made his collegiate debut for Missouri at the Edward Jones Dome, threw for 181 yards â?? 67 on an early touchdown pass to Justin Blackmon â?? and two interceptions before leaving in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. Chad Henne came off the bench and found Cecil Shorts for a 4-yard touchdown with 10:22 left in the game to pull the Jaguars (0-5) within 27-20.
Two drives after Blackmon’s score, Gabbert went his way again but was intercepted by Matt Giordano, who took it back 82 yards for a tying score. Bradford capitalized on a Jacksonville fumble with a 16-yard scoring strike to Lance Kendricks to snap a 10-10 tie early in the second and finished a 12-play, 90-yard drive later in the half with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Pettis to make it 24-10 at the break.
Gabbert threw his second interception on a fourth-and-goal attempt early in the third and St. Louis went up 27-13 on Greg Zuerlein’s 37-yard field goal nine seconds into the fourth. After Henne found Shorts, the Rams responded with an 80-yard drive capped by a Bradford-to-Pettis 31-yard score with 5:54 left and Jacksonville turned it over on downs moments later.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Blackmon had a game-high 136 receiving yards in his return from a four-game suspension to start the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. RB Maurice Jones-Drew contributed 70 yards on 17 carries. … Jaguars OT Luke Joeckel left in the first quarter with a right ankle injury. He did not return. … Giordano’s TD was the third on an interception return by a Jacksonville opponent this year.
