The St. Louis Rams are fighting for the NFC West title. The Denver Broncos are fighting for respectability.
The Rams will find out how much kick the Broncos have left when they come to Denver on Sunday.
St. Louis (4-6) is one game behind Seattle in the NFC West, where the combined record of the teams is 15-25. Denver (3-7) is in last place in the AFC West.
The Broncos are 5-15 since their 6-0 start in 2009, their worst 20-game stretch since 1971. They had a realistic chance to stay in the division hunt, but were blown out by San Diego 35-14 on Monday Night Football.
Denver coach Josh McDaniels has been asked whether he will use rookie quarterback Tim Tebow more, but the Broncos are still mathematically alive, so he won’t throw in the towel yet on the season.
The Rams have lost two straight, including a 34-17 setback to the surging Atlanta Falcons last week. Sunday marks the first of three straight road games for St. Louis, which hopes to survive the stretch and make its Week 17 meeting at Seattle possibly an NFC West title game.
It would be a quick turnaround for the Rams, who won a combined six games in the last three years.
Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford is putting together a solid rookie season for the Rams. He has completed 60.6 percent of his passes, with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Bradford has done it without the Rams’ top receiver Donnie Avery, who suffered an ACL injury in the preseason. His next best weapon – Mark Clayton – tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in Week 5.
Danny Amendola, a possession receiver, leads the Rams with 60 catches and three touchdowns. Brandon Gibson is Bradford’s top deep threat, with 31 catches and two touchdowns.
Rams running back Steven Jackson has slept in an altitude tent this season, which maintains a lower oxygen concentration. Jackson said it has helped his body heal faster and will also prepare him for the thin air in Denver.
Jackson is eighth in the NFL with 811 yards and also has 28 receptions. He should like what he sees on the other side of the ball Sunday – the Broncos are second-to-last in rushing yards allowed at 143.5 per game.
The Broncos can’t run either. They are last at 75.4 yards per game, despite a healthy Knowshon Moreno rushing for 164 yards in the last two games.
Denver’s offensive line is also struggling in pass protection as quarterback Kyle Orton has been sacked 26 times, seventh highest in the NFL. The Rams are No. 6 with 28 sacks.
Orton was sacked five times by the Chargers. He is third in the NFL with 3,023 yards, with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Broncos’ Brandon Lloyd leads the NFL with 1,046 yards, his first career 1,000-yard season. Denver rookie wide receiver Demaryius Thomas will not play Sunday because of an ankle injury.
The Rams won the last meeting 18-10 in 2006.